Intricate Relations
by Teagarden
Summary: Ema Hinata joins the Asahina family at age eleven. As Ema grows she offers the brothers support in their dreams, care when they're down, and cheering when they succeed. The brothers all come to adore Ema, but as time goes on they have to ask themselves: do they love her as their stepsister, or as a woman?
1. Before

**A/N:** Just as an FYI, Juli is not in this fic. I feel like this story is complicated enough and has enough characters without throwing him into the mix. For this fic I'll use events from the novels, the anime, and the games.

 **Chapter 1: Before**

Eleven-year-old Ema Hinata got home from school on Friday to find an empty home, but that was no surprise. Her father, Rintaro, was an adventurer and spent much of his time out of the country. He wrote books about his adventures and sold the pictures he took to famous magazines.

Walking to the kitchen, Ema neatly placed her school books on the table before turning on the oven and pulling out the dinner she prepared this morning from the refrigerator. All she needed to do now was heat it up.

Sitting down to start on her homework while the oven heated, Ema's eye caught on the picture of her and her father hung up by the calendar. She smiled at the photo of her and Rintaro standing on London Bridge that was taken last year. She loved to hear the stories of her father's adventures and during the summers when she was off from school he sometimes took her with him.

When Ema was younger, her neighbors used to frequently check in on her for Rintaro to make sure she was okay when he was away, but she became self-sufficient at a very young age, and now the neighbors rarely dropped by, though they still talked to her whenever she left for school and came back. While she didn't need their help around the house, she did miss having other people come to visit.

Ema jumped when the oven beeped and she got up to put the dinner inside. She tried to shake-off her melancholy thoughts. She got lonely being home alone most of the time, and sometimes it was hard to leave her friends at school when she knew she was going home to an empty house, but her dad loved his job and she wanted to support him. She loved his job too, she just wished it didn't take him away from home so much.

~.~

On Saturday, Rintaro arrived home early in the evening.

"You're back, dad!" "Ema exclaimed, throwing her arms around her father. "I didn't think that your flight got in for a couple more days."

Rintaro squeezed Ema tight and kissed her head, but he looked nervous when he pulled back. "I had some stuff in Japan that I needed to take care of. Along those lines Ema…There's someone important I want you to meet tonight. We're going to meet her for dinner in a few minutes. I didn't want you to meet her until everything became official. I didn't want you to be disappointed or to put you through anything stressful if things didn't work out."

"What are you talking about, Dad?" Ema asked, tilting her head as she stared at Rintaro in confusion. She'd never seen her dad look so nervous before, and she had no idea what he was talking about. Meet who? And why would she be disappointed or stressed about meeting someone?

"Well," Rintaro rubbed his hands nervously on his thighs before taking Ema's hand and leading her over to the couch. He kept hold of her hand as they sat down. "Ema, I know that it's been just you and me for a long time."

"Ever since Mom died when I was a baby," Ema interjected.

"Right. It's been just you and me for as long as you can remember, but I—I met a woman earlier this year. Her name is Miwa Asahina and I— _we_ love each other very much. I proposed to Miwa earlier this week and she said yes."

Ema's face was a careful mask of calm as her heart fluttered wildly. Rintaro looked at her hopefully, but Ema wasn't sure what expression to show. She was sure that he wanted her to be excited for him, but she didn't know anything about this woman. She hadn't even known that her dad was dating. Did this woman like kids? What did she know about Ema? Did she want to be Ema's mother? It would be nice to have a mother. Someone to take her clothes shopping rather than Rintaro giving her some money and sending her off on her own. Someone to talk about boys with when she got older. It'd also be nice to have someone who was home. Ema would like to cook for someone other than just herself.

"So, we're having dinner with Miwa tonight?" Ema asked.

"Yes," Rintaro said, nodding. "She's excited to meet you. She doesn't have any daughters, only sons. She's very happy to be gaining a daughter."

"Sons?" Ema asked, perking up. "She's has sons? I'd have brothers?" It hadn't occurred to her that Miwa might have children already. Ema had always been so jealous of her classmates with siblings. What would it be like to always have other people home with you? Someone to do homework with and to play with? She hoped one of the sons was close to her age.

Rintaro smiled, relieved to see Ema looking interested and excited. "Yes, when Miwa and I get married you'll have a mother _and_ brothers. Won't that be nice?" He squeezed Ema's hands. "I know that this will be a big change and that it might not be easy, but I think that it will be wonderful for both of us."

~.~

At dinner that night, Ema held onto her father's hand tightly as they walked into the restaurant to meet Miwa. Ema was excited, but also nervous. What if Miwa didn't like Ema? Or what if Miwa was mean?

Rintaro squeezed Ema's hand and pointed, "There she is," he said. Ema looked to see a pretty woman around her father's age with short blond hair. She was wearing a business suit and stood up with a smile when she saw Rintaro.

Rintaro let go of Ema's hand to hug and kiss Miwa, then he turned to Ema and said, "Ema, this is my fiancé, Miwa Asahina. Miwa, this is my daughter, Ema."

Miwa held out her hand, a bright smile on her face. "It's wonderful to meet you, Ema. I've heard so much about you from your father."

"It's nice to meet you, too," Ema said, taking Miwa's hand. Miwa sure seemed like a nice woman, and dinner went well. Her father and Miwa told Ema about how the two of them met and how they started dating. Ema was amazed and a little hurt that Rintaro kept all this from her, but she understood that he hadn't wanted Ema getting attached to Miwa and her sons in case the relationship didn't work out. He could have at least told her that he was dating though.

Near the end of dinner, Miwa said, "So Ema, your father and I want to offer you a couple choices of where to live. The wedding won't be for another six months, so you could continue to live in your current apartment for half a year if you'd like." Ema bit her lip, but said nothing. She _definitely_ didn't want to go with that option. "I have an apartment in the city that your father will be moving into and you are welcome to stay there with us there, and then there is the Sunrise Mansion, where my sons live. As I said, you have six months before you need to decide where you'd like to live."

"You don't live with your sons?" Ema asked in confusion.

"I work overseas," Miwa said, "and when I'm in Japan, I spent most of my time at the office. That's why I have an apartment in the city. It's more convenient that way." Ema was still confused. How could Miwa not live with her own family? Ema's father was gone a lot too, but at least when he was in Japan he came home at night. It sounded like living in Miwa's apartment in the city would be no better than what she had now.

"I want to live with my new brothers, if that's okay," Ema said. "And I'd rather do that now instead of in six months."

"I understand," Miwa said, looking a little disappointed. "It wouldn't be very fun to live with your father and me in that big lonely apartment." She gave a little laugh. "Sometimes _I_ don't like living there, and I'm sure my sons will be very excited to have their new little sister come live with them."

Ema's heart thumped nervously. She hoped so, but she wondered how much they actually knew about her since she didn't even know they existed until today. Then she finally registered exactly what Miwa had said. "Little sister? Are all my brothers older than me then?" She felt both happy and disappointed. She had been excited over the thought of a playmate her age, but she could hardly be picky about it. Having brothers period was going to be amazing.

"Well, most of them are. Two are younger than you and Yusuke is the same age as you. The rest are all older."

Ema resisted the urge to clap her hands in excitement. A brother her age! And younger brothers! Ema was going to be a big sister! She vowed in her heart that she would be the best big sister ever. Except, she had little idea of what a big sister was supposed to do. "How many are older than me?"

Miwa seemed to have to think for a moment before saying, "Ten."

"Ten!?" Ema exclaimed, her eyes feeling like they were going to pop out of her head. "I'm going to have thirteen brothers?"

"Do you still want to live with them?" Miwa asked, looking concerned. "They're wonderful boys and young men, I promise. They're very well behaved and they take good care of each other. That's why I can be confident about leaving them alone while I work. Masaomi and Ukyo take wonderful care of all their younger brothers."

Ema shook her head. "No, it's not a problem." She wasn't dismayed at the thought of gaining thirteen brothers, she was _ecstatic._ Surely, she'd never be home alone while living with thirteen brothers. She'd finally have someone to come home to. Make that _someones_ to come home to. But what if they didn't want a girl moving in?

~.~

Later that night, Miwa walked into the living room of the Sunrise Mansion to tell her sons the news. Azusa and Tsubaki sat on the couch playing handheld game devices while Natsume, Suburu, and Kaname were stretched out on the floor watching sports on TV. Louis leaned against the back of the couch, watching Tsubaki and Azusa play their game. The triplets had graduated from high school last year and Natsume was still working out what he would do now while Tsubaki and Azusa were attending a school for voice acting. Kaname was working as monk. Louis was in his second year of high school. Subaru was in his second year of junior high while Iori, who sat at the table next to Ukyo, both of them studying for school, was in his first year of junior high. Ukyo had one more year left of college until he graduated as a lawyer.

Masaomi, already a pediatrician, sat in the corner of the room playing a card game with Wataru, who started kindergarten this year. As Miwa went through all her sons in her head, she saw that only three were missing. Yusuke, Fuuto, and—

"Oh! Mother!" A fake shocked voice said from the stairs behind Miwa. "What a surprise to see you. I thought you'd forgotten where we live since we haven't seen you in a while." Miwa turned to see Hikaru. "It's so good of you to do the motherly thing and come see for yourself that we're all still alive rather than just relying on Masaomi's and Ukyo's phone reports. Or should I say their phone messages since you don't actually answer your phone. At least, not for your something so trifling as speaking to your children. As you can see, we're all accounted for, so you can return home feeling that you've done your duty."

Miwa sighed tiredly. She didn't want Hikaru's bitterness to spoil her good news. "Would you go get Yusuke and Fuuto and bring them here?"

"Oh, of course," Hikaru agreed. "You haven't seen _all_ your sons yet. How diligent of you." Hikaru didn't look at her as he swept past her and into the hallway to fetch his missing brothers.

A few moments later, all thirteen brothers were gathered on the massive living room couch and Miwa smiled as she stood facing them, trying to regain her excitement from earlier. She loved Rintaro and was excited for Ema to join the family. She was sure her sons would love Ema.

"You know that I've been dating the adventurer Rintaro Hinata for almost a year now. Last week he proposed and he and I will be getting married six months from now."

Fuuto's face dropped into a deep frown at the same time that Masaomi's lifted into a smile. "That's wonderful, Mom. I'm glad you've found someone again." Miwa's husband had died a little over four years ago, before Wataru even turned one. Masaomi had been worried about his mother ever since. She'd always thrown herself into work with a passion, but it got even worse after his father died. Masaomi was worried that Miwa would burn herself out. She needed something in her life other than work. He hoped that Rintaro would treat her well.

"Thank you, Masaomi," Miwa said, her smiling turning radiant. "There's more though. Rintaro has an eleven-year-old daughter named Ema. She's going to come live with you all shortly. I want you to prepare a room for her and give her a warm welcome into the family."

"A sister?!" Tsubaki exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "I'm getting a little sister?"

" _We're_ getting a little sister," Natsume corrected dryly.

"Ema," Tsubaki said out loud, as though trying out the name. "What a cute name! I bet she's adorable."

"You don't even know anything about her," Fuuto muttered, crossing his arms angrily. He could barely remember his father, having only been five years old when he died, but now his mother thought she could replace her dead husband by marrying some other man? Fuuto would _not_ accept this man as any sort of father figure. He wouldn't accept the man's daughter as his sister either. He wanted nothing to do with either of them.

"So, before he even gets married Rintaro is shoving his daughter off on us? Sounds like you and him really are a good match," Hikaru said. "Don't worry, Mother, we'll take good care of Ema. Someone ought to."

"Leave it alone, Hikaru," Kaname said. "I think it'll be fun to have a little sister. It will be nice to have a feminine touch around here."

"No it won't," Subaru argued, a mutinous look on his face. "I don't want a girl here! She'll mess everything up."

"You're just upset because you're afraid of girls," Tsubaki said, waving a dismissive hand at Suburu. "You'll get over it. This will be good for you. You'll finally be exposed to the opposite sex, and you won't be able to run away from her like you do the girls at school."

"Shut up!" Subaru shot back, his face flushing red.

"I want a big sister!" Wataru said, clapping his hands together in excitement. "Do you think she'll be nice and that she'll like us, Mao-nii?" Wataru asked, turning to his oldest brother.

Masaomi smiled down at Wataru. "I'm sure that she'll like us if we're nice to her."

Wataru gasped. "We should get her a present! To welcome her!"

"That's a great idea!" Tsubaki agreed. "We should get her something cute."

"Having a sister will be fun," Louis mused quietly. "I could do her hair for her."

Miwa smiled. Having Rintaro and Ema join the family was going to be a big change, but Miwa believed that change would be for the best for them all.

 **A/N:** As excited as I am to write a Brothers Conflict fanfic, I'm also nervous because I don't know if I can actually make up my mind about who Ema should end up with. I've got it narrowed down to about half and I decided to just post this before I chickened out.


	2. Sunrise Mansion

**A/N:** Thanks to guest reviewer xsafyx for their lovely review (I'm so glad you felt like everyone was in character! I'm going to try really hard to keep it that way).

 **Chapter 2: Sunrise Mansion**

Ema looked around her room, probably for the last time, with her heart fluttering. The room was bare now that Ema had packed up everything she needed. Rintaro said that he would take care of everything else in the apartment when he got back from his next trip, which was two weeks from now.

Ema took one last look around the apartment, but she had no more reason to stall. She was ready to leave and go to her new home. The thought both terrified and exhilarated her. She wanted to go meet and live with her new family, she just wish she didn't have to be alone the first time she met them. But if she wanted Rintaro or Miwa to be with her, she'd have to wait fourteen more whole days before going. Now that she was finally going to have a big family, she didn't want to spend any more time in this apartment all by herself.

Steeling herself, Ema grabbed her suitcase and walked out the door, a smile on her face. Though she was nervous, she was not going to miss this lonely apartment.

Ema was lost in her thoughts the whole train ride and walk to Sunrise Mansion. Her thoughts alternated between imagining what her new brothers were like (thirteen of them!) and fearing that they would resent the intrusion of a girl into their all-guy home.

When Ema finally reached her destination, she stood staring up at the imposing structure for a long time. Sunrise Mansion was an apartment building and had five floors, but Miwa told Ema that only the top three floors were used by the Asahina family. The first two floors were rented out. The third and fourth floors held all the bedrooms, and the fifth floor was a kitchen, dining room, living room, and recreational area used by all the siblings. This was her home now.

Ema clenched her free fist and gave herself a little pep talk. She would be upbeat and friendly, and win over her new brothers. She had to show them that she would be a good sister and wouldn't be a burden to them.

Striding to the intercom by the front door, Ema put her suitcase down and pushed the button for the fifth floor. Then she flooded with panic. She hadn't thought about what she was going to say yet!

"Hello?" A deep male voice came through the speaker. Probably one of the older ones then.

"Um, hi, I—I'm Ema Hinata. I'm your new sister…" Ema's voice trailed off weakly at the end. She wasn't sure if it was okay to call herself their sister before their parents got married, let alone before they'd actually met her.

"Oh," the voice sounded surprised. "I'll be down in a second."

Ema fidgeted, biting her lip as she waited. The door opened a few moments later to reveal a tall man with red hair.

Ema clasped her hands together in front of her and bowed. "I-I'll be in your care from now on!"

Hikaru smiled and put a hand to his mouth, trying to hold in the laugh that wanted to burst out at Ema's adorable awkwardness. He hadn't known what to expect from his new stepsister, but it wasn't this. As Ema lifted out of her bow, Hikaru's eyes searched behind the young girl. "Where's your father?"

"He's out of the country," Ema answered with a shrug, then she looked down at her hands as she nervously entangled her fingers together. "He'll be gone for two weeks, but I didn't want to wait that long to come here."

Hikaru felt a flare of anger towards his soon-to-be stepfather. What kind of a man let his eleven-year-old daughter wander the streets alone to come to a house full of thirteen men that he'd never even met? And what must Ema's life be like for her to be willing to come here all by herself two days after Miwa and Rintaro announced their engagement?

"Well, it was very brave of you to come here by yourself," Hikaru complimented, taking Ema's suitcase in one hand and holding the other hand out to her. "My name is Hikaru. I'm the fourth oldest son."

Ema tentatively placed her small hand in his, giving him a shy smile. "I can carry my suitcase," she offered as Hikaru led her inside and into an elevator. "I carried it all the way here."

Hikaru tutted. "What kind of a brother would I be if I made my little sister carry her own luggage? You must be tired from carrying this so far."

A brilliant smile lit up Ema's face at being called a little sister, but she shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm pretty strong for a girl. I can do lots of things by myself."

"Well, now you have brothers to help you do things," Hikaru said, surprising himself. He wasn't normally the helpful type, but something about Ema struck a chord in him. It sounded like Rintaro was about as involved in Ema's life as Miwa had been in her sons' lives. Except, Ema had been all alone rather than surrounded by brothers. At least Hikaru had had three older brothers to be there for him.

"We have a room prepared for you," Hikaru said as the doors opened on the third floor. "It's not very big though. The rest of the rooms are all taken." Hikaru fought the frown starting to form on his face as he thought of the room they'd prepared for Ema. It was really more of a storage space that Tsubaki had been using to house his anime and mange junk. They'd cleared out Tsubaki's stuff and put in a dresser and a bed with a comforter thrown over it. The room didn't even have a window.

"That's okay," Ema rushed to reassure Hikaru. "I'm small, so I don't need a lot of space."

Hikaru pursed his lips. "We would have done more to get it ready, but we didn't expect you so soon." Tsubaki and Wataru hadn't even had time to get Ema a welcome gift yet like they'd wanted to. Tsubaki had wanted to rush out immediately to get her something, but Azusa pointed out that they knew nothing of Ema's likes and tastes. Azusa suggested talking to Rintaro before getting Ema anything.

"Sorry," Ema said, hanging her head. "Maybe I should have—"

"It's not a problem," Hikaru interrupted. "I was just explaining why your room doesn't look better than it does." They reached the room at the end of the hall and Hikaru opened the door. Putting Ema's suitcase on the bed, he watched Ema look around the small space before saying, "Well then, would you like to meet more of your new brothers?"

Ema nodded eagerly, hoping the rest of the Asahina brothers would be as nice as Hikaru.

"I have to go to class soon," Hikaru said, glancing at his watch. "I'm a university student, but I believe Tsubaki and Azusa are around. We'll see if we can't find them before I have to leave." Hikaru led Ema up two flights of stairs into a spacious living room. Off to the side two young men stood in the kitchen.

"Yo!" Hikaru called out, standing behind Ema and placing his hands on her shoulders. "Look who came today."

The two looked over and looked surprised for a moment, coming around from behind the counter.

"Is this—" The white-haired one started to say, looking at Hikaru, then he addressed Ema and asked, "Are you Ema?"

Ema nodded, then bowed and repeated what she'd said to Hikaru. "Starting today, I'll be in your care."

"She's so cuuute!" He exclaimed, pouncing forward and wrapping Ema in a hug. Ema froze, not sure what to do. She was thrilled that this brother was so excited to have Ema as a sister, but she was surprised at this much affection coming right after he met her.

"Well, I've got to go," Hikaru said. "I'll leave our new sister to the two of you." Ema felt a little flare of panic as Hikaru walked away, though she'd only spent a few minutes with him. Still, everything about this situation was unfamiliar, as exciting as it was.

The darker-haired brother smacked the head of the first one. "Let her go, Tsubaki. You're scaring her."

"I am not," Tsubaki said, pulling away from Ema with a pout. "I'm just welcoming our new sister." Tsubaki put his arm around his brother. "I'm Tsubaki, and this is my identical twin, Azusa. You can just call me Onii-chan though."

Ema clasped her hands to her chest and tentatively said, "Onii-chan?" Trying out the word more than using it to refer to Tsubaki. That was one word she never thought she'd use, but the idea of addressing older brothers that way made her happy.

"Too cute!" Tsubaki cried out, flying forward to hug Ema again.

Azusa sighed and shook his head before smacking Tsubaki a second time. "Try to have some control, would you?"

They stopped talking when they heard voices and three guys walked into the room, wearing exercise clothes and dripping sweat. One was blond with earrings, one had orange hair, and the last one holding a basketball didn't look much older than Ema.

"Hey!" Tsubaki called to get their attention. "Our new little sister is here!"

"Already?" The one with orange hair asked in surprise.

"Sorry," Ema mumbled, flushing red. Maybe she should have at least gotten one of the brother's cell phone numbers from Miwa and warned them she was coming. Or asked when it would be a good time for her to come.

"There's no need for you to apologize," the blond said, smiling. "You're part of our family now."

"Right," the orange-haired one agreed. "I didn't mean it like that. You have nothing to apologize for."

The blond nodded in agreement and said, "I'm Kaname. This is Natsume and that one is Suburu." Subaru looked at the floor and mumbled something that could have been hello.

"Natsume is our triplet," Azusa explained. "But Tsubaki and I are monozygotic twins, while Natsume is dizygotic, so he's not identical to us."

"Well," Kaname said, running his hand over his forehead to wipe away sweat, "the three of us had better go shower and change before dinner. Ukyo won't be happy if we smell. See you later, imouto-chan." He threw a wink at Ema and walked away with the other two. Ema's heart beat fast at being called imouto-chan for the first time.

"We'd better go, Tsubaki," Azusa said, looking at his watch with a sigh. "We promised to meet up with our high school friends, remember?"

"Ahhh, do we still have to?" Tsubaki complained. "Our little sister is here now."

"It's okay!" Ema assured Tsubaki, not wanting to interfere with his and Azusa's plans with friends. "I'll be fine."

Tsubaki pouted but said, "We're leaving early so we'll be home for dinner. We can't miss Ema's first meal with the family."

Ema smiled happily at Tsubaki's words and Azusa and Tsubaki both patted Ema on the head as they walked by. Right before the twins left, two more brothers walked in. Azusa said something to them, and they both turned to look at Ema. Ema felt nervous again, wondering how in the world she was supposed to remember the names of all these brothers. She'd just have to pay careful attention to what they called each other to help her keep track.

The two brothers walked over to her. The older one was blond and looked like he was in high school. The other was very handsome and looked around Ema's age.

"Hello," the blond greeted with a kind and slow smile. "I'm Louis, one of your new brothers. And this is Iori."

Iori held his hand out for Ema to shake and Ema noticed his uniform. She couldn't remember the name of the school, but she knew that the junior high with that uniform was for really smart kids. "I'm Ema. I'm grateful to join the Asahina family. I hope I don't cause too much trouble."

"I'm sure you won't be any trouble at all," Iori said. "We're looking forward to gaining a sister."

Ema beamed and Louis reached out to brush Ema's ponytail with his fingers. "I can do your hair anytime you want," Louis offered. "I do my friends' hair at school at the time."

"Thank you," Ema said, surprised at the offer. She didn't know that guys knew how to do hair and was curious what hairstyles Louis knew.

"We'd better put our bags away before Ukyo gets home," Iori said, looking at Louis. "You know how he hates clutter."

"Mmm," Louis agreed, nodding his head. "We'll be back in a little bit, okay Ema?"

Ema smiled and nodded, a little wary about standing in the living room by herself. What if more brothers came while they were gone and thought that Ema was intruder? Admittedly, an eleven-year-old girl was rather young for an intruder, but you never knew these days.

Another door opened after Louis and Iori left and Ema stood up straight, clutching the bottom of her shirt. A boy came in. One of her younger brothers!

"H—Hi!" Ema greeted, trying to be cheerful.

The boy looked over and looked Ema up and down with an unimpressed look. "Who are you? One of Yusuke's friends?"

"N—no," Ema stuttered, surprised over hearing such a caustic tone coming from someone younger than her. "I'm Ema Hinata. I'm your new—"

"Oh," he interrupted before she could finish, his eyes darkening. "You're _her._ " He looked her up and down again before snorting. "If we have to have you live here, you could at least be cute."

Ema clutched her hands to her chest and tried not to cry as the boy turned and walked into the kitchen. She had no right to cry. She was the one intruding in his home, and she couldn't expect all the brothers to be nice to her just because most of the others had been.

The elevator dinged and Ema scrubbed at her face, trying to get rid of the tears in her eyes. When she looked up, she saw two comparatively older looking men and one young boy. Miwa said Ema only had two brothers younger than her. Maybe this one would be nicer.

"Hello," the blond man wearing glasses said in surprised confusion as he looked at Ema. Then he looked around to see if anyone else was around.

"I—I'm Ema Hinata," Ema said, bowing and feeling miserable. She'd lost all her earlier confidence. Or, at least, all of her earlier _pretend_ confidence. "I'm—" She couldn't bring herself to say she was their sister after the young boy's reaction to her. "From today on I'll be in your care."

"Oh," the blond said in surprise. "Mom said you'd be coming soon, but I didn't realize it would be this soon."

"Ohhh," the little boy groaned. "But we didn't get you your welcome present yet!"

"Welcome present?" Ema asked in surprise, finally looking at the three of them again.

Masaomi frowned as he got a look at Ema's face and came closer, bending down to look Ema in the eye. "Is everything okay?" He asked in concern.

"It's fine," Ema mumbled quietly, unable to muster up the energy to sound more convincing.

Masaomi looked over at the kitchen and saw the mean boy. "Fuuto," he muttered, shaking his head. Then he smiled at Ema. "Well Ema, I'm Masaomi, and I'm the oldest. Welcome to the Asahina family. This is Ukyo, the second-oldest, and Wataru, the youngest."

"Why don't we make you a welcome dinner?" Ukyo suggested. "To make up for the fact that we don't have your welcome gift yet."

"You don't have to," Ema said shyly.

"Of course we do," Masaomi countered. "You're part of our family now."

"That's right!" Wataru said, stepping forward and clutching Ema's arm. "You're my new big sister!" Ema smiled, grateful for Wataru's excitement. At least one of her younger brothers was excited to get a big sister. "I can show you around!"

"I think that's a good idea," Masaomi said, smiling down at Wataru. Before Wataru could take Ema anywhere, the last brother finally walked in. Ema looked up and her eyes widened in surprise to see a slightly familiar face. She didn't know his name since he wasn't in her class, but she knew that the redhead standing across from her went to the same school as her.

"Ah!" He exclaimed, pointing a finger at Ema. "You're not Ema Hinata, are you?"

Ema flinched, afraid of being rebuffed again, like she had with the brother apparently named Fuuto.

"Do you know her, Yusuke?" Masaomi asked, looking between the two of them.

"She goes to my school," Yusuke answered, "but, but she can't be my sister! You're schoolmate can't be your sister!"

"Why not?" Ema demanded, tired of being offended. What had she ever done to Fuuto or Yusuke? What did they not like about her?

"Because it's weird," Yusuke declared, his face flushing red.

"Don't be ridiculous," Ukyo chastised Yusuke. "There's nothing wrong with your classmate becoming your sister. It just means that you two can go to school together."

"I won't!" Yusuke declared. "I won't do it!"

"Yusuke's a meanie!" Wataru declared, sticking out his tongue at his brother. "You're so lucky that you get to go to the same school as Oneesan, but you're too dumb to be happy about it. Come on, Ema, I'll show you the house." Grasping Ema's hand, Wataru marched forward, dragging Ema past a sputtering Yusuke.


	3. Settling In

**A/N:** Chapter updates won't normally be this frequent, but I wrote the first seven chapters before I started posting this story, so I'm ahead right now

 **Chapter 3: Settling In**

Ema stared at Ukyo in wide-eyed amazement. "You're going to school to become a lawyer _and_ you do all the cooking?" She had been at Sunrise Mansion for almost a week now. Her original gung-ho plan had been to offer to help cook, but after her first night here, she felt shy about volunteering. Ukyo was an amazing cook and Ema now knew that the Asahina brothers were used to high quality since only Ukyo did the cooking. What if they didn't like Ema's cooking in comparison?

Ukyo smiled and puffed out his chest a little. It was nice to actually have someone appreciate all his hard work rather than just take it for granted. It wasn't exactly easy to cook for twelve brothers. Especially when half of them were still growing. "I do more than that," Ukyo told Ema. "It takes a lot of work to keep a household this big running. I make sure all my brothers get their homework done and clean their rooms, I make sure I know where everyone is at night so I know that they all get home safely, and I do most of the laundry."

Ema's mouth dropped open. "When do you sleep?"

Ukyo chuckled. "You get used to all that work eventually. I took over the cooking for the family when I was fifteen or fourteen. It helped me to learn how to prioritize and multitask, which I believe is why I've done so well in school."

Ema shook her head. "You're amazing, Ukyo-san. The Asahina family is very lucky to have you."

Ukyo's heart warmed at her words. He didn't know Ema very well yet, but everything he'd seen showed that she was a responsible and caring young girl. Though she was a little shy, Ukyo sensed that she was excited to join their family. He just hoped she wasn't overwhelmed by the sheer number of brothers and Tsubaki's overly affectionate manner.

"Um," Ema began tentatively, twisting her fingers together, "I could help you with the cooking if you wanted. I cooked for myself all the time at my dad's apartment and I started when I was nine. I might not be as skilled as you, but I'm pretty good. And I can help with the laundry and help make sure Wataru and Yusuke get their homework done. I—I'd like to be the kind of sister you can rely on."

"I think those all sound like great ideas," Ukyo said, placing a hand on Ema's shoulder. "I would love to have your help."

Ema beamed.

~.~

Three weeks later, Ema watched Louis come into the living room out of the corner of her eye as she prepared the vegetables for dinner. Ukyo had called to tell her he needed to stay late at his university's library tonight to study, so dinner was all up to Ema.

Louis was moving towards the couch before suddenly stopping, dropping his backpack on the floor, and laying down, using his backpack as a pillow. Ema sighed and shook her head before grabbing a bottle of juice and walking over to him.

"Louis-san, why are you laying on the floor?" Ema asked.

He opened his eyes and smiled up at her. "I was tired," he told her. "I planned to come home and take a nap after school on the couch, but then…it was too far away. I didn't have the energy to make it."

Wordlessly, Ema hold out the juice for Louis. He sat up to take it from her and drank a big gulp.

"When did you last eat, Louis-san?"

"Hmm." Louis tilted his head back as he appeared to consider the question. "I'm not sure. I think it may have been dinner last night…or maybe lunch yesterday?" He shrugged. "I'm not sure."

"What about sleep?" Ema asked. "When was the last time you slept?"

"I slept in math today," he answered.

Ema giggled, but covered her mouth with her hand, not sure it was appropriate to laugh at that. "I meant in your bed, Louis-san. It's important to get a full night's rest. When did you last do that?"

Another head tilt as Louis considered the question. Another shrug. This was why Ema had to watch Louis. He was very kind, but always seemed to be off in his own world, which led to him forgetting basic needs like sleeping and eating. Ema tried to make sure that Louis was at least always there for dinner, but last night Ema had dinner at her friend Mahoko's house.

"Dinner will be ready in two hours," Ema said, holding a hand down to Louis. "Why don't you sleep on the couch until then?"

Louis smiled and took Ema's hand, letting her lead him over to the couch. He was happy to gain a little sister, and he looked forward to getting to know her better. So far she was very careful of all the brothers, observing to see how she could help out. He knew that Ema worried about him and always watched to see how he was doing when he came home from school. He thought it was adorable that his new little sister worried about him and wanted to take care of him despite the fact that he was five years older.

"It must be hard for you to go from being an only child to joining a family of thirteen brothers who've lived together all their lives," Louis said as he sat down.

Ema's eyes widened and she shook her head. "I think I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I'm grateful to have so many brothers. Now I'm never alone."

Louis heart squeezed at Ema's last comment as he imagined how lonely she must have been living in an apartment with a dad who was often traveling. Grabbing Ema's arm, he pulled her into a hug. "Even if it's not hard for you, I'm sure difficult things will come up. If you ever have any concerns about your place in our family, you can always come talk to me, Em-chan."

Ema blushed at being called a nickname by one of her brothers for the first time.

~.~

In the following weeks, Ema stayed true to her promise to Ukyo of helping out. She and Yusuke often did their homework together along with Wataru whenever he had any homework from kindergarten. Although Yusuke still refused to go to school or come home with Ema and he never acknowledged her when they were at school. Ema even tried to make sure that Fuuto did his homework too, but he was always mean to her when she talked to him.

Ema didn't feel she had any right to tell the brothers older than her to do their homework, but the next oldest brother didn't need any prompting. Iori was very responsible and smart. He never had any trouble with his homework and was actually helping Ema with math right now.

"So I have to carry the decimal point two places in this problem?" Ema asked.

"That's right," Iori said with a nod. "You're doing very well, Ema-san."

"Only because you're a good teacher," Ema argued, grateful that Iori was willing to take the time to help her today. She didn't normally need help. It wasn't like elementary homework was that hard, but she'd been really tired in class today and struggled to pay attention as the teacher explained how to do the math homework.

Ema sighed. "I wish that I was as good as you at school. You're so smart about everything." She rarely got bad grades, but she wasn't at the top of her class like Iori.

Iori shook his head. "It's more a matter of focus and effort than of how smart you are. And besides that, school is all that I'm good at. You're really good at things like cooking and taking care of other people. I'm amazed at all the things you do to help out everyone around the house."

Ema blushed, pleased at the compliment, but not entirely sure how true it was. She tried to be helpful, but she was only a little girl.

"And I have my worries too," Iori said, fiddling with his pencil. "Doing good as school doesn't make that go away, and sometimes getting perfect grades can just be a problem."

"What do you mean?" Ema asked carefully, hoping she wasn't prying. She wasn't trying to be nosy; she just wanted to help if she could.

"There's a girl at school that I like," Iori confessed. "But I know that some of our brothers, especially Ukyo, wouldn't want me getting distracted by having a girlfriend. They'd say that it will make my grades suffer, or that it might harm my chances of getting into a good high school."

Ema considered that for a moment. "I think that any girl that you like must be pretty special." She'd heard the girls in the neighborhood talking about Iori. They called him a prince since he was so nice and smart. She couldn't imagine what kind of girl it would take to get the attention of a guy like Iori. "Maybe you could find a way to prove to Ukyo that you could handle school and having a girlfriend. And maybe you could bring her home to introduce her to everyone. If she goes to the same junior high as you, she must be smart too. Maybe she'll impress Ukyo and then he'll be okay with you two dating."

Iori looked relieved. "That's a great idea, Ema-san. Thanks for the advice." He gave her a playful smile. "If you ever need advice on a guy you like, feel free to come to me."

~.~

Four months after moving into Sunrise Mansion, Ema now had a comfortable routine and felt she was becoming friends with most of her brothers. The two big exceptions were Fuuto and Subaru. Subaru was never mean to Ema like Fuuto was, but he never talked to her either. Whenever Ema tried to start a conversation with him, he would just make unintelligible noises, though he had thanked her for dinner or for laundry a couple times.

As Ema sat outside and watched Yusuke and Subaru play basketball, Ema wondered if she could get Subaru to talk to her if she tried talking about basketball to him. Watching them, Ema was impressed. She didn't know much about basketball, but it sure looked to her like Subaru knew what he was doing and she was pretty sure that he wasn't going all out against Yusuke. He took the time to show his younger brother how to do different moves.

"You look really good playing basketball," Ema complimented when Subaru and Yusuke took a break for a drink. "I can tell that you love it. You must practice a lot to be so good."

Subaru merely shrugged and looked at the ground.

"You should see Suba-nii play at one of his games," Yusuke said excitedly. "He's the best on the team." He cast an idolizing glance at his brother before turning back to Ema. "Actually, he has a game this weekend. You should come!"

Beside Yusuke, Subaru tensed, but didn't say anything.

That weekend, Ema sat next to Yusuke in the gym of Subaru's school. Not being into sports, she was worried that she'd be bored. She only came because she wanted a better relationship with Subaru, but to her surprise, basketball was a lot more interesting when you knew and cared about one of the players. Ema kept her eyes on Subaru most of the game. She cheered whenever he made a basket and squealed in excitement when he stole the ball from the other team or passed it to a teammate to make a basket. She gasped when a player from the opposing team hit Subaru in the face with an elbow. It totally looked like it was on purpose, but the referee ignored it and Ema clenched her hands in anger.

Yusuke crossed his arms and pouted at Ema's enthusiasm. On one hand, he was glad that Ema was enjoying the game and that she thought Suba-nii's playing was cool. On the other hand, he didn't want Ema to start liking Subaru or anything like that.

Unlike Subaru and Fuuto, Yusuke didn't have a problem with the idea of getting a sister. He'd kind of liked the idea of maybe looking out for his sister at school and being her hero. But that was _before_ he found out his new sister was Ema Hinata, the girl he was crushing on at school. He hadn't known her name since she wasn't in his class, but he'd been hoping to find out all year. On the first day of school he saw her and thought she was the cutest girl he'd ever seen, and then he saw how nice she was to everyone and he'd liked her even more.

He couldn't help his reaction when he saw her at home, but later he'd hoped that she wasn't mad at him about it. He didn't want her to think that he hated her or anything like that. It probably didn't help that he wouldn't go to school with her, but some of his friends already knew that he had a crush on her. What would they say or do if they found out that Ema was his step-sister now? He couldn't let them find out. It would be even worse next year when they entered junior high. He knew what kinds of things people would say about a guy and a girl who lived in the same house but weren't related to each other. He wouldn't let anyone talk about Ema that way, and the best way for no one to find out about anything was for Yusuke to stay away from Ema at school.

He was grateful when Ema asked him if he wanted to do homework together at home so they could help each other out. Now he could spend time with Ema and show her that he really was a nice guy. And hopefully _stop_ her from noticing how great some of his other brothers were.

As the final buzzer sounded, Ema leapt to her feet along with much of the crowd to applaud the winning of Subaru's team. Yusuke and Ema went down to talk to Subaru and Ema gushed, "That was amazing, Subaru-san! I didn't know that basketball could be so cool. Yusuke was right, you're one of the best on the team!

"Oh!" Ema interrupted herself, remembering the elbow Subaru took to the face. She gently reached out and brushed her fingers across Subaru's cheek. "Are you okay, Subaru-san? I can't believe that guy hit you and nobody did anything about it!"

Subaru flushed bright red and moved back a little. The only girl who'd ever touched his face before was his mom. Actually, his mom might be the only girl who'd ever touched him period. Subaru didn't let most girls get close enough to be able to touch him. Surprisingly, it made Subaru a little happy that Ema was upset about him getting hit. It made him even happier to see how excited she was about watching him play. He'd never seen Ema so excited before and he was glad that he'd been able to show her how cool basketball was.

"It's fine," Subaru brushed off, though his cheek did hurt a little.

"That was really fun to watch. I'd like to come to another game sometime."

Subaru blushed again and stuttered, "Tha—that'd be fine with me." Maybe having a girl in the house wasn't completely awful. At least, not if that girl was Ema.


	4. Weddings and Splintered Relationships

**A/N:** I keep telling myself that I should save all these chapters that I'm ahead on so that I don't get behind in posting later on, but I'm just too excited about this fic.

 **Chapter 4: Weddings & Splintered Relationships **

Ema sat, barely paying attention to the teacher as she waited for her class to start their cultural exhibit. A lot of students' parents were there. Ema's, of course, were not. Rintaro was almost never able to make it to events like these, but that wasn't what was on Ema's mind at the moment. The wedding of Miwa and her dad was only a month away now. Miwa took Ema shopping last week to get a cute dress. It was her first time going shopping with a woman and had been a lot of fun.

Even better was the fact that Ema would soon be an official member of the Asahina family. She wasn't taking on their last name and they weren't taking on hers, but legally she would now be their sister.

"All right, class," the teacher called out, clapping her hands. "Everyone get into their positions."

Ema moved behind the Chinese cultural booth and pasted a smile on her face, but she didn't share the same enthusiasm as her booth mates. Events where students got to show off their hard work and knowledge were less exciting when you didn't have anyone to show off to.

As the first parent came to the booth, Ema's eye caught on a surprisingly tall and blond man in the crowd. She blinked to make sure she was seeing correctly, but when she saw the two men standing next to him, she knew for sure that the three were Kaname, Tsubaki, and Azusa. Ema bit her lip in consternation as she remembered that the cultural exhibit for Yusuke's class wasn't until tomorrow. Kaname and the other two must have gotten the date confused.

"I'll be right back," Ema whispered to one of the girls running the booth with her before she slipped out.

"Kaname-san!" Ema called, and he turned to smile at her, the twins soon following suit. "You got the wrong day," Ema said when she reached them. "Yusuke-kun's class exhibit is tomorrow, not today."

"Who cares when Yusuke's doing his cultural exhibit?" Tsubaki asked. "We came for yours."

Ema froze, not sure if she'd heard correctly for a moment. "For me?" She asked slowly.

"Of course, Imouto-chan," Kaname said with a little laugh. "Why else would we be here?"

Unable to help herself, Ema put a hand to her mouth as she started crying. "I—I'm sorry," she choked out. "I don't mean to cry."

The three brothers looked at each other in concern. "Are you upset that we came?" Azusa asked.

Wordlessly, Ema shook her head. Finally, she managed to say, "I didn't think that anyone would come. I know that it's silly to cry—" She didn't finish her thought because Tsubaki bent down and wrapped Ema in his arms.

"It's not silly," he said, giving Ema a squeeze, "and I'll always come."

Ema smiled, rubbing away her tears. It looked like she didn't need to wait for the wedding to be a real member of the Asahina family.

~.~

Ema sat between Tsubaki and Wataru at the wedding ceremony, Tsubaki's arm around her shoulder and Wataru holding her hand. She had spent all the previous day with her dad, which had been a lot of fun, but it wasn't until this morning that Rintaro had finally met all the Asahina brothers. He'd said he was happy to see that the brothers were taking such good care of Ema, but he'd seemed a little disconcerted to see his only daughter surrounded by so many guys.

Ema had never been to a wedding before and was excited by everything. Miwa looked so beautiful in her wedding dress and Ema got to help her new mother get ready before the ceremony. Before that back at the house, Louis had done Ema's hair. She finally got to see what he was capable of, and she was very impressed. She was also excited to wear a cute dress and have fancy hair. It wasn't very often that she got to get all dressed up.

At the reception, Ema danced with Rintaro after he and Miwa had the first dance. She also danced with Tsubaki, Kaname, Louis, Wataru, and Iori. Most of her brothers stood along the wall or sat at tables during the dancing, looking uncomfortable.

When it started getting late and Wataru couldn't stop yawning, Masaomi decided that it was time for Wataru to go home. Wataru protested that he wasn't tired until Ema offered to go along with them. It had been a long day and she was ready to get to bed.

"I'm surprised that everyone still lives together at Sunrise Mansion," Ema said to Masaomi on the drive home as Wataru fell asleep in the back seat. "It seems surprising that no one has gotten married or moved in with friends or a girlfriend."

"Well, I can't speak for my brothers," Masaomi said, "but I know that I've stayed home to help take care of everyone." He glanced in the rearview mirror and smiled at Wataru's sleeping form slumped to the side. "Our father died shortly after Wataru was born, so Wataru doesn't remember anything about him. I don't ever want him to be lonely, so I'll stay until he doesn't need me anymore."

Ema's lips trembled as she thought of all the times she was lonely because her mother died when she was a baby. She tried to hide her tears when they came and said, "Wataru is lucky. I'm glad he has a big brother like you so he won't ever feel like I did growing up."

Masaomi looked over at Ema in concern and in the light of a passing streetlight, saw her tears. Masaomi's heart went out to the young girl. In only six months she had managed to win the affection of almost all her new brothers. They appreciated that Ema always had a smile on her face and always went out of her way to help them. Whether it was cooking dinner, helping someone with their homework, or running to the store. Masaomi reached out with one arm to give her a hug, pulling her closer to him. "I'm not just Wataru's big brother. I'm your big brother too and I'll always be there for you, Ema. I promise I won't leave Sunrise Mansion until you don't need my support anymore."

Ema pushed her face into Masaomi's shoulder and clung to his shirt, more grateful than she could possibly express to be part of the Asahina family.

~.~

The next morning, Ema got up late and was surprised to hear yelling coming from the living room when she went to grab breakfast.

"How can you just walk away from it all?" An angry voice that sounded like Subaru demanded.

"It doesn't matter," the other voice brushed off. Ema thought it was Natsume. "That's just kid stuff and I'm an adult now. Besides I've lost interest."

"Lost interest?" Subaru demanded. Quietly, Ema crept to the door, feeling like she should probably be going back to her room rather than standing there listening to them fight. "Running has been your life for _years._ Don't give me some bull crap about you losing interest. Tell me why you're really quitting."

Ema could now see the two. Subaru stood with his shoulders tight and his fists clenched. A few feet away stood Natsume with his arms folded and a bored look on his face. Natsume shrugged. "I already told you the truth. If you don't want to believe me, that's up to you."

Subaru growled and wheeled away from Natsume, a disgusted look on his face. He came barreling towards the door Ema stood at and she backed up frantically. When Subaru saw her, he still had the same glare, but turned away from Ema and kept on walking. Tentatively, Ema walked into the kitchen. Natsume didn't look bored anymore. Now he just looked tired and miserable. Ema wondered if Natsume really had been lying to Subaru about why he was quitting running.

She was trying to get up the courage to ask when arms wrapped around her from behind. "Ema!" Tsubaki exclaimed excitedly. "Did you hear the good news yet? Natsume got a job with some gaming company and he's moving out! That means that you get to move into his room. You'll be next Azusa who's next to me! Isn't that great?"

Ema looked up at Tsubaki, startled at this sudden revelation, but Tsubaki was looking at Natsume now. "Hey, when are you moving out, Bro? Ema needs her new room. Her current one is too cramped. And too far away from mine."

"Glad to know you're going to miss me, Tsubaki," Natsume said dryly. "Why don't you just throw all my stuff out the window and be done with it?"

"It'd be faster that way," Tsubaki responded. "Just say the word and I'll do it."

Natsume shook his head. "I'll be moving out Friday. Is that soon enough for you?"

Tsubaki sighed. "I guess that will have to do."

~.~

On Friday after school, Ema helped Natsume pack his things into boxes. Most of their older brothers were still at work and the younger brothers were still at school for club activities. Tsubaki and Azusa had made plans with friends after Tsubaki told Natsume that he only wanted to help Ema move.

"You shouldn't have to help me," Natsume said, eyeing Ema packing up video games.

"I don't mind," Ema said earnestly. "All my homework is already done." Her eyes caught on the title of the video game she just picked up. "Look! It's one by the company you're joining. They make the best zombie games."

"What?" Natsume asked, pausing in packing up his clothes.

"I said they make the best zombie games. Their Massacre series where you play a demon assassin is pretty good too." Ema finally realized that Natsume was staring at her. "What?"

Natsume blinked. "I knew that you liked video games, but I thought—I didn't realize that those were the kinds of games you played. We should have played together."

"That would have been fun!" Ema said, perking up. "We have a lot of the same games. Did you find the rocket launcher on level nine of Zombie Apocalypse Two? Level ten was so much more epic with it!"

"No," Natsume said, still in shock and now disappointed that he hadn't managed that. "How did you find it?"

Ema shrugged. "I just looked around. It was hiding in the rubble of the abandoned military base."

"Have you beaten all the Zombie Apocalypse and Massacre games?"

"Yep!" Ema responded proudly. "Except for the latest Massacre game. I'm on the second to last level, but it's really hard."

Natsume shook his head, a smile on his face. Who would have ever thought that his sweet step-sister, who always seemed to be helping someone, loved zombie and assassin video games? He'd assumed that Ema just played dating games and life simulation games. He really should have asked her about her tastes. "I think that you're better at video games than I am."

They worked in companionable silence for a while before Ema got up enough courage to ask Natsume what she'd wanted to all week long. "Natsume-san?"

"Yes, Ema-chan?"

"About what happened with you and Subaru-san last Sunday—"

"That's none of your business," Natsume quickly shot Ema down, the expression on his face becoming closed off and angry. "You couldn't possibly understand."

Ema stared at her box sadly as she taped the top shut. "You're right. I've never had siblings before, so I have no idea what it's like to have a relationship like the one you and Subaru-san have."

Natsume winced, feeling guilty at Ema's melancholy tone. He shouldn't have snapped at her like that. An apology was on the tip of his tongue when Ema looked up at him, a sincere and determined look in her eye. "I may not know what it's like to have a relationship like that with a sibling, but I do know that it's precious and that I would give up almost anything to have a bond like that with a sibling. It's something that's worth fighting for and going through hard times for."

Natsume sat silent for a moment, surprised at Ema's mature response. Wasn't she only eleven? Now Natsume really wished that he'd talked to Ema more. He should have made more of an effort to get to know his little sister. Sighing, he gave up on keeping the truth from Ema.

"It's really difficult to make a living through running," he told her. "Very few people can do it, and if you get an injury, you lose everything. I have to be realistic about my future, which is why I'm joining this gaming company, but I don't want Subaru to feel the same way about basketball. He's really good and I think he can make it all the way to the professional league. If he knew that I quit running because I didn't think I could make it, he would doubt his ability to make it in basketball. He doesn't need that."

Ema's heart ached as she listened to Natsume. He was doing all this out of love and a care for Subaru's future. He was pushing away the brother he was closest to in order to protect that brother. "I understand," Ema said quietly. "But I wish there was another way."

"He'll forgive me someday," Natsume said. He felt comforted that at least one person knew the truth and that he was doing all this for his little brother's sake.

When they finished packing everything into Natsume's car, Natsume said, "I'm sure that it can get annoying having so many brothers around all the time. I know I felt like I could never be alone sometimes. If you get too fed up with our brothers, feel free to give me a call. I'll come pick you up and we can play video games at my apartment."

Ema grinned. "I don't know if I'll ever get tired of being around so many brothers, but I would like to play video games with you." Before leaving, Natsume helped Ema move all of her things. Since Natsume's new apartment already came with a bed, Ema got to keep Natsume's bigger bed. When Tsubaki got home later that evening, he stood in the doorway of Ema's new room with a pout on his face.

"What's wrong, Tsubaki-san?"

"Eeemaaa," Tsubaki whined, dragging out her name. " _I_ was supposed to help you move."

"You weren't here," Ema said with a shrug. "I helped Natsume-san pack everything away, and then he helped me move my things."

"Too many insults," Tsubaki muttered.

"What?" Ema asked in confusion, not sure if she heard him correctly.

"This is too many insults," Tsubaki repeated. "You didn't let me help you move closer and you _still_ call me by the wrong name, even after six months. I'm not leaving until you call me by the right name."

Ema blushed. Tsubaki was one of the brothers she was closest to because he always wanted to spend time with her, but it still felt weird to call him anything other than Tsubaki-san.

Tsubaki changed his voice to sound like the stoic older brother from an anime Ema was watching with Tsubaki and Azusa. "I work day after day to care for my little sister, and I'll I ask for is one thing from her." He kneeled down by the bed, where Ema was sitting. "Is it too much to ask for?"

Ema giggled and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Oniisan, I didn't mean to make you feel sad."

Tsubaki sighed and shook his head, adopting the voice of an obnoxious and over-protective brother from the same anime. "That's not the right one! I told you, I won't ever leave your side until you say it."

"Onii _chan._ "

"Again."

"But I said it!" Ema wished it didn't make her blush so badly to be familiar with her brothers. She hoped that it would go away soon.

"Again."

"Onichan."

"Again."

Ema hoped this wouldn't go on all night.


	5. Vacations and Careers

**Chapter 5: Vacations and Careers**

"Ema," Kaname asked one night at dinner. "When is your birthday?"

"Next week," Ema responded innocently.

Silence descended on the dinner table.

"Next week?" Tsubaki echoed, as though unable to believe it.

Ema nodded. "I'm sad that dad and Miwa will both be gone, but at least I won't be alone this year!"

"Ema!" Tsubaki exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table and jumping to his feet. "Why didn't you tell us? This is your first birthday with us! And the only time you turn twelve! It practically marks the end of your childhood. We need to have a big celebration."

Ema blushed and shook her head. "I don't need a big celebration. I just like being at home with everybody." Of course, "everybody" was now one less since Natsume moved out, but Ema tried to invite him to family activities whenever they did anything special.

"Why don't we go to our beach house to celebrate?" Kaname suggested. "Ema-chan hasn't been yet."

"Beach house?" Ema asked in surprised, not having heard of it before.

"Our dad bought Mom an island a few years before he died," Tsubaki explained. "We have a house and a boat there. It's really nice because it's just us on the beach."

Ema's eyes grew huge. She'd known that the Asahina family had some money. Miwa had a job as an executive and flew around the world, but she hadn't realized they had _this_ much money.

~.~

Ema shaded her eyes as she stepped out of the car and into the bright sunshine. Everyone hadn't been able to come since the trip was such short notice. Subaru and Natsume both refused to come based on the fear that the other would show. They didn't explicitly state that as their reason, but Ema was sure that was why. Subaru didn't want to see Natsume, and Natusme wanted to give Subaru his space for now. Iori had extra classes to prepare him for high school exams and Fuuto refused to come, saying he didn't want to celebrate Ema's birthday, so Masaomi ended up staying home to take care of him and Iori.

Kaname took Ema's bag from her and led her to one of the rooms. After changing into her swimsuit, Ema went to the living room, still hardly able to believe the Asahina's owned their own beach.

On the coffee table, Ema found a brochure for Aoyama University. Ema picked it up and started leafing through it. "What are you looking at?" A voice behind Ema asked. Ema jumped and turned to face Tsubaki, showing him what she held in her hand.

"This was on the table," she said. "But whose is it?" The only brother old enough to be thinking about college who wasn't already attending was Louis, but he was planning on entering beautician school.

Tsubaki snorted and took the brochure from Ema. "Ukyo probably put it there the last time we came here, before Azusa and I started school this year. Azusa was originally planning on attending Aoyama University and that's where Ukyo wanted me to go. I think he tried to get almost every brother to try to talk me out of attending voice acting school instead."

"But you've always wanted to be a voice actor," Ema said in surprise, Tsubaki having told her that he gained the dream after listening to a robot anime as child. "Aren't you supposed to follow your dreams? I think that's one of the great things about the Asahina family; that everyone is working hard to follow their dreams. Masaomi as a doctor, Ukyou as a lawyer, Louis as a beautician, and Subaru with basketball. I think it's amazing that you've had the same dream since you were young and have stayed with it all this time."

"Yes!" Tsubaki declared, sweeping Ema into a hug. "You're exactly right, Imouto-chan. Follow your dreams! Tell that to Ukyo the next time you see him, okay?"

"I don't know if I'll do that," Ema said uncertainly. "But I'm grateful I have so many wonderful examples to look up to with my brothers. I hope that someday I'll learn what I want to do with my life."

"I'll help you, okay?" Tsubaki offered, slinging an arm around Ema's shoulders as Azusa walked in. "Azusa! Okay, now we can go to the beach."

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Ema asked, surprised.

"Nope," Tsubaki responded cheerfully. "We only need the three of us. The rest can catch up if they want to."

Ema looked back uncertainly as Tsubaki dragged her from the house, feeling bad about leaving everyone else.

"So what do you think of my dream?" Tsubaki asked.

"What?" Ema asked in surprise, turning her attention to Tsubaki.

"You said you think it's great that I've kept the same dream for so long, but what do you think of my dream? Ukyo says that it's a hard profession to break into and that I'm wasting my time when I should be learning about a real career."

Ema felt flustered being asked what seemed like a deep question to her. She was only eleven (almost twelve) and she didn't know much about these sorts of things. "Well, I think your voices are really great," Ema said shyly. "Though maybe my opinion on things like that doesn't matter much."

"It's the most important opinion to me aside from Azusa's," Tsubaki declared, leaning down to kiss Ema's head. Ema flushed and was grateful when Tsubaki ran off to plunge into the ocean. Eventually she'd get used to receiving affection from her brothers.

Ema turned to ask Azusa if he was going to get into the water too, but stopped when she saw an upset expression on his face. "What's wrong, Azusa-san?"

"It's nothing," Azusa said, shaking his head and giving Ema a smile before turning his attention to Tsubaki.

Ema pursed her lips and sat down in the sand, idly drawing designs. "Is it too grown up for me?" She asked, wanting to be helpful if she could.

Azusa looked down at Ema in surprise, then sat down next to her. "Well, I heard you talking with Tsubaki in the living room. And…I guess I'm just upset that I'm not following my dreams. Like you said, so many of our brothers are and then there's me who's just floating along behind Tsubaki."

"What is your dream?" Ema asked. "I'm sure if you wanted to do something else, Tsubaki-san would support you."

"I don't have one," Azusa said with a shrug, staring off into the ocean. "That's why Tsubaki told me to leave Aoyama University and join him in voice acting. So, I did. I'm just following along with Tsubaki, like I've always done."

"Well," Ema said carefully, thinking her answer over, "I think that's okay for now. If you do discover something else that you want to do, I think that you should go after it, but since there isn't a job that you want and you love being with Tsubaki, why not follow him for now? You should do what makes you happy. Tsubaki-san and Ukyo-san both say that you're amazing." Ema remembered Ukyo lamenting over Azusa's perfect high school grades going to waste one night while they were cooking dinner. "I think you would probably be good at whatever you set your mind to, so why not try out voice acting? Maybe it will become your dream."

Azusa looked at Ema, wondering if living alone for so long was what had made her so mature. He knew that he hadn't been anywhere near this mature when he was Ema's age. "I guess you're right," Azusa said, feeling better about his decision to follow Tsubaki. He turned his attention back to his twin, who was waving for Ema and Azusa to join him.

~.~

Dark storm clouds began moving in later in the afternoon and they all moved inside to play games. Tsubaki and Kaname were disappointed that they brought Ema here for her birthday and then the weather turned on them, but Ema was just having fun spending time with her brothers.

Ema, Kaname, Yusuke, and the twins sat around the coffee table playing a board game while Louis watched when Ukyo came from the kitchen. He insisted on making dinner himself tonight, even though Ema's actual birthday wasn't until the next day. "Has anyone seen Wataru?" He asked with a frown, gazing around at his assembled siblings.

"He's not with us," Azusa said. "Is he in his room?"

"No," Ukyo said. "And I don't think that I've seen him for a couple hours. When was the last time anyone saw him?"

That question brought silence before a mad scramble ensued to try to find Wataru inside the house. No one found a sign of him. "Honestly," Ukyo muttered, running a hand through his hair. "This is what happens when Masaomi isn't here, we go and lose Wataru." He then proceeded to pair off the siblings to go looking for Wataru outside. Ema went with Kaname and they started on the left side of the house and moved out from there.

When they reached tide pools that Wataru had been looking at earlier, the rain started pouring down on them. "Why don't you go back inside, Ema-chan?" Kaname suggested. "I'll keep searching."

Mutely, Ema shook her head, worried about what might have happened to her youngest brother. Kaname gave a distracted smile and put his hands on Ema's shoulders. "I'm grateful that my new little sister is concerned about our youngest brother, but I need to take care of you too."

"I've been taking care of myself for years," Ema informed Kaname. "So I don't need any worrying. We should just focus on Wataru right now."

Kaname looked sad as he considered Ema. "I know that Ukyo is always saying I'm a useless flirt, but let me be a big brother and worry about you at least a little bit."

It was true that Ukyo and some of the other brothers often complained about Kaname being a flirt obsessed with women, even to the point where he joined a shrine that was really like a host club, but Ema saw a different side of Kaname. "I don't think you're useless. I always see you giving a lot of care to all our brothers. You greet everyone when they come home and listen about how their day went, and you always help out anyone with their homework when they ask for help. I think that you'll be able to use what you've learned taking care of our brothers to help people at the shrine. "

Kaname was surprised at Ema's reponse. He hadn't realized she'd paid so much attention to him and was so observant. And he couldn't deny that he felt a little flattered that his little sister had a high opinion of him. He wasn't so sure he was deserving of that high opinion, but he did appreciate it.

Hoping to wipe the sad look entirely away from Kaname's face, Ema said, "I think that you're a wonderful big brother, Onii-sama."

Kaname smiled and patted Ema's head. "Not bad, Imouto-chan, but I'd prefer it if you called me Onii-chan instead." The next second, Kaname's phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, covering it with one hand to try to protect it from the rain. "Ukyo, did someone find Wataru?" A look of relief passed over his face before it changed to irritation. Shaking his head, Kaname shut the phone and put it back in his pocket before holding his hand out to Ema.

"Wataru's okay?" Ema asked, taking Kaname's hand and letting him help her navigate the rocky shore surrounding the tide pools.

"He's fine," Kaname said dryly. "He went into the pantry a couple hours ago for a snack, and then decided to curl up in the corner there and take nap."

"I guess we didn't check the pantry," Ema said. "Though I'm surprised that Wataru didn't wake up when we were calling for him."

"Wataru is a pretty heavy sleeper," Kaname said. "We would have had to make a lot more noise than that to wake him up. I hope he doesn't start taking after Louis and start falling asleep in strange places all the time."

"At least he's okay," Ema said. "And we got to talk."

Kaname smiled down at Ema and squeezed her hand.


	6. Girlfriends and Italy

**A/N:** Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed!

toolazytologin: I'm glad you like the story and the development! I really wanted to show how Ema affects/interacts with all the brothers as they live together. I agree that the anime doesn't do as good a job of showing why Ema comes to mean so much to the brothers.

xsafyx: I'm glad you love the story! And I love your reviews!

 **Chapter 6: Girlfriends and Italy**

"Yusuke-kun, Em-chan," Louis interrupted the two thirteen-year-olds as they worked on their science homework. "I have someone I want you to meet."

The two looked up to see Louis standing next to a pretty woman with long red hair. "This is my girlfriend."

"Wh-why do you have a girlfriend?" Yusuke demanded, flushing bright red.

"That's wonderful, Lou-nii!" Ema said at the same time. "Is she staying for dinner?"

"I'm not sure," Louis said, looking over at the lady. "I don't think that she's decided yet." The woman leaned over to whisper something in his ear. "Yusuke, she says that she thinks you're cool."

"What?!" Yusuke exclaimed, flushing even redder. Ema couldn't help but giggle at his reaction. Yusuke was much better at dealing with girls than Subaru, but he still got easily embarrassed sometimes when girls were involved. "I need to go do my homework somewhere else," Yusuke muttered, gathering up his papers and fleeing the living room.

"Where did you two meet?" Ema asked.

The woman smiled brightly at Ema as Louis answered, "At the park a little while ago." Ema wondered if the woman was too shy to talk. She had whispered into Louis' ear earlier rather than speaking to Yusuke herself.

All three turned as the elevator dinged and Masaomi walked out.

"Welcome home, Mao-nii!" Ema greeted. "How was work today?"

"It went well," Masaomi answered, smiling at Ema. "I had a patient today who's terrified of shots, but Usa-tan helped calm him down."

"Masoami," Louis interrupted. "I brought someone home with me today." He gestured to the woman next to him. "This is my girlfriend."

Masaomi looked puzzled as he studied the two of them. Louis' girlfriend continued to smile brightly. "Uh, okay." He paused. "But Louis, why is Hikaru your girlfriend?"

"Hikaru?!" Ema exclaimed turning to give the supposed woman a closer look. The lady had a shocked look on her face and Louis looked surprised as well.

"How did you know?" The red head finally asked in a deep voice, proving that Louis' "girlfriend" was indeed Hikaru. No wonder "she" hadn't been talking.

"How did I know?" Masaomi asked, still looking puzzled as he titled his head. "How could I not know? We are brothers after all."

"Yusuke, Azusa, and Iori didn't see through it," Hikaru said, folding his arms. Ema couldn't help giving Hikaru a strange look. It was weird to hear such a masculine voice coming from someone who looked so feminine. "Maybe it's because you're a doctor. You're used to studying people."

"No, I don't think so," Masaomi argued. "As my little brother, I've been looking after you for a long time. No matter how you look at it, it's obviously you."

Hikaru burst into laughter before placing a hand on Masaomi's shoulder. "I apologize for underestimating you, Niisan. Thank you for showing me how deep humans are."

"But why are you dressing like a girl, Hikaru-nii?" Ema asked, her science homework completely forgotten.

"For research purposes, of course."

"Research? You want to know how it feels to be a girl?"

"No," Hikaru laughed as he sat across from Ema. "Girls have an amazing power that guys will say all sorts of things around them and to them. Even criminals. I want to write crime novels that are realistic, but criminals will never tell me their story and how things really work. A cute girl, on the other hand, is another story. I want to learn how to become a girl to do research for the novels I want to write."

"That's so dedicated," Ema gushed, her eyes glowing as she looked at Hikaru across the table.

"I'm not sure that's something you should be admiring," Masaomi said, looking down at his little sister in consternation.

"Hush, you," Hikaru said, waving a dismissive hand at Masaomi. "Of course our little sister should admire her brothers working hard towards their dreams. What kind of example do you want me to set for her? One where I laze around with women and drink like Kana-nii?"

Masaomi merely shook his head.

"We need to try again," Louis said, his eyes ablaze as he tugged on Hikaru's arm.

"What?" Hikaru asked, looking up at his younger brother.

"We need to try again," Louis insisted, still pulling on Hikaru's arm. "If Masaomi saw through your disguise so easily, I didn't do a good enough job. I know I can make you into a better woman."

"All right," Hikaru agreed, giving Ema and Masaomi a little salute as he stood up. "We're off for more experimentation." Ema didn't think she'd ever seen Louis look so fired up before.

~.~

In the following weeks Ema got used to the sight of the female version of Hikaru popping up now and again. Louis was teaching him to do his own make-up and he would go out and practice his woman voice on unsuspecting citizens. He went all over the place working to perfect his act. The supermarket, the arcade, the park, the mall. Most of their brothers thought he was just weird and Ukyo said this was even worse than Kaname working for a host club that pretended to be a shrine.

What Ema wasn't used to seeing was one of her brothers' actual girlfriends being inside the house. Especially without said brother present. Ema warily eyed Amamiya Reiko, Ukyo's girlfriend, as she worked on preparing dinner. They had unexpectedly been out of beef (probably because Subaru took it all since he was at an all-day training camp for basketball) and Ukyo had run to the store, leaving Ema alone with Reiko. Ema tried to be nice to everyone, but this woman reminded Ema of a pit viper for some reason, and _none_ of her brothers liked Reiko (except for Ukyo, of course).

Thankfully, Reiko didn't come to the Sunrise Mansion very often. She claimed it was too noisy, but since many of their brothers were otherwise occupied tonight, Ukyo had brought her home for dinner.

"So, Ema-chaaan," Reiko said, drawing out the chan. For some reason, Reiko's tone made Ema nervous. It was a fake nice tone that made Ema think Reiko was about to say something mean. "Have you enjoyed moving in with so many handsome and well-connected young men?"

"What?" Ema asked, thrown by Reiko's question and not understanding what the older woman meant.

"You're lucky your father married Miwa-san. Now you have every opportunity to snag one of the Asahina brothers for your own. Which one do you think you'll go for? Or maybe you've got more than one in mind?"

Ema tried to figure out Reiko's meaning, but still didn't understand. What she did understand was that Reiko was probably being cruel to her for some reason.

"Oye," a voice said, followed by a boy with artfully tousled hair. "It's not very ladylike to show how threatened you are by someone much younger and prettier than you." Fuuto gave his trademark smirk. "If you're so concerned about Ema stealing a better guy, maybe you should work on yourself first."

Reiko drew herself up, looking enraged as her face turned red. "You—you worthless little brat. I hate this family. All of you are so conceited and think you're so much better than everyone else."

"Isn't that ironic coming from someone who wants to take advantage of the Asahina's money and power? Isn't that the only reason you're dating Kyo-nii?"

"Ingrate," Reiko hissed, snatching her purse and stalking out of the room. "I'm leaving! Feel free to tell Ukyo you both chased me away."

"Ingrate is an old lady word," Fuuto called after her. "You shouldn't use it if you're already so worried about how old and ugly you are."

Ema stared at Fuuto in shock. What she should have been thinking about was how upset Ukyo was going to be that Reiko had left. Instead all she could do was be shocked that Fuuto had actually defended her. In the two years that she'd lived here, she had yet to hear any kind words from Fuuto (at least, no kind words that he didn't quickly turn mean and sarcastic).

"What?" Fuuto demanded, turning and seeing Ema's expression. "Don't get the wrong idea. It's not like I've come to accept you as my sister or anything. I just can't stand that woman." Sitting down at the counter, Fuuto grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl and started peeling it, ignoring Ema. Inside he was thinking that it _was_ kind of nice having Ema around to help with the cooking and helping to take care of him and his brothers when they got sick. When he had the stomach flu last month she'd made Fuuto whatever he wanted and brought him all sorts of movies. And he didn't always hate it when she reminded him to do his homework.

When Ukyo came home soon afterward and demanded to know where Reiko was, Fuuto shrugged. "She said it was still too loud even with just Ema and me here. Maybe you need to get her earplugs, Kyo-nii. Better yet, maybe you should get her a muzzle. I think that most of the noise she complains about comes from her."

Ukyo gave Fuuto a dark look as he tossed the beef on the counter.

~.~

Ema walked down the street, immersed in her phone. Ukyo had texted her asking her to pick up some ingredients for dinner on her way home from school. He was studying for BAR exams tonight and wouldn't have time to pick anything up.

Ema was trying to figure out which store would be best when she passed a woman who loudly cleared her throat. Ema looked up in surprise, wondering if she'd stepped on something that belonged to the woman.

"You're not just going to pass me by without saying anything, are you?" A smooth voiced asked her.

Ema gaped when she realized who it was, then she smiled. "You've gotten really good! If I didn't recognize you, I never would have guessed that you weren't a woman. Has Tsuba-nii been helping you with your voice?"

"Yes," Hikaru said, slipping an arm through Ema's and walking with her. "Our dear brother is learning some useful tricks at that school of his. I'm confident enough now in my disguise that I do all my shopping like this."

"That's amazing! I really admire how hard you work to become a better writer and to gain new experiences." Ema felt very lucky to have so many good examples to look up to. She wanted to figure out what she wanted to do with her life so she could follow her dreams just like all her brothers were doing.

"Right," Hikaru said, becoming somber. "But to continue to learn new things and gain more experience to help me become a better writer, I need to venture out in the world."

"What do you mean?" Ema asked, pausing in the middle of the sidewalk to stare up at Hikaru.

Hikaru sighed and placed a gentle hand on Ema's cheek. "I'm leaving Japan next week."

"Next week!" Ema exclaimed, wondering how long Hikaru had been planning this for. It didn't sound like this was a spur of the moment decision, but she never knew with Hikaru. He could have been thinking about this for years or he could have decided just yesterday. Hikaru seemed to hold the characteristics of dedication and whimsy in equal measure.

"Yes, next week. I wanted to ask you to look after our brothers while I'm gone. Not that you don't do that already, of course. And I'll come back to visit now and again to take you shopping for cute clothes." He smiled at Ema and patted her on the head before tugging her arm to get her moving again and out of the way of other pedestrians.

"I can leave without any worries thanks to you. I'm grateful that we Asahinas have an actual mom figure, so to speak, to take care of us now since our own mother can't be bothered. From the day you joined our family you've stepped into the mother role in caring for everyone. You help Ukyo cook and clean, you help Masaomi take care of us when we're sick, you make us lunches, listen to our problems…All the things Miwa should be doing."

"She's really busy with work," Ema defended quietly. It did seem odd how little they saw Miwa. She was even worse than Ema's father, though she'd seen less of him since moving in with her brothers. Thankfully, they took such good care of her and took up so much of her time that she often didn't notice.

Hikaru scoffed. "Mom has always loved babies and small children. She was always so excited when she brought a new baby home, but she's a career woman at heart and soon enough she'd be back to work and flying all over the world. Taking care of all her employees and business deals, and forgetting all about her children. It's nice to have an actual woman in the house."

Ema flushed. "I'm just a girl. I don't do all that much."

Hikaru threw back his head and laughed, still keeping in character he gave a light, tinkling laugh. "You may be just a girl right now, but I know you'll grow into an amazing woman. I predict you'll have almost any guy who knows the real you vying for your attention. Of course, they'll have to make it passed us brothers first."

~.~

Ema ended up making dinner alone that night since Ukyo had to stay out later than he anticipated. He finally arrived home almost as Ema was headed to bed and she tried to get his attention to tell him about Hikaru's announcement that he was leaving for Italy, but he seemed oblivious to her with a dark scowl on his face.

"Oye!" Tsubaki called to Ukyo, stepping up behind Ema and wrapping his arms around her. "Our adorable little sister is trying to talk to you and you're ignoring her."

"What?" Ukyo snapped, whipping his head around. Ema flinched against Tsubaki, having never seen Ukyo so upset before. And he'd certainly never talked to her like that before.

Tsubaki's eyes turned unfriendly as he protectively pulled Ema closer to him. "Whatever happened to piss you off, you _do not_ take it out on Ema. You want to yell at me instead? Go ahead."

Ukyo pushed his glasses up and tiredly rubbed his eyes. "You're right. I'm sorry, Ema. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"It's okay," Ema said quietly, still tucked into Tsubaki's arms. "I know you have a lot of stress with studying for your lawyer exams. I can take over all the cooking until you're done."

"It's not that," Ukyo said, shaking his head and staring at the floor. He clenched his fists and glared at the ground. "It's over between Reiko and me."

"Seriously?" Tsubaki asked. "Then we should be celebrating, not mourning."

Ema twisted to give Tsubaki a disbelieving look.

Ukyo turned his glare on Tsubaki before stalking away and muttering, "I don't know why I bother telling any of you anything."

Once Ukyo was out of earshot, Tsubaki turned towards the couch and called, "Azusa, did you hear that? The wicked witch is gone and out of Ukyo's life! I wonder what happened though. From Kyo-nii's attitude, it seems like she probably broke up with him. Oh well." He turned Ema around and clasped her shoulders. "This calls for a celebration. You should stay up late tonight and watch this new anime that Azusa and I are checking out."


	7. Priorities

**Chapter 7: Priorities**

"We're starting eighth grade next week," Ema said peevishly as she faced off with Yusuke in the living room. "We've been siblings for three years now. Are you honestly telling me that you still won't take the train with me to school?"

Yusuke gripped one arm awkwardly as he stared at the floor. What was he supposed to tell Ema? That he didn't want people to talk about them living together as unrelated siblings? Ema was too innocent to understand what would happen at school if everyone knew they were stepsiblings, but he knew _exactly_ what kind of rumors that would spark. He shrugged. "Well, what do you need to walk to school with me for? We see each other all the time at home, don't we?"

"So you're sick of me?" Ema asked, torn between anger and hurt. "Is that why you only pretend to be my friend at home where our brothers can see but ignore me at school? Or am I only good enough to hang out with when you don't have better friends around?"

"No!" Yusuke exclaimed, his gaze shooting up to Ema's. Why couldn't she just understand? "I—you're one of my best friends. I'd pick hanging out with you over my school friends any day." He stopped as he felt his face flush red and he wondered if he'd said too much.

Ema's hurt look turned to confusion. "Then why don't you…" Ema trailed off as her gaze moved beyond Yusuke. He turned to see what had caught her attention and was surprised to see Azusa with a soft smile on his face walking into the kitchen as though in a trance.

Ema and Yusuke shared a surprised glance before they followed Azusa into the kitchen. "Azu-nii?" Ema asked hesitantly. "How was work today?"

"What?" Azusa asked, looking up as though surprised to see Ema and Yusuke there, then the soft smile returned to his face. "It was good. The new anime I'm working on is doing surprisingly well. The director is really excited."

Ema and Yusuke exchanged another glance. Even though Tsubaki and Azusa had only recently entered the voice acting world, they'd both been doing extremely well. Azusa was already working on his third and fourth anime right now, but he'd never had an expression like this on his face because of work before. In fact, Ema had never seen an expression like this on Azusa's face period.

"Did something particularly good happen today?" Ema asked, fishing for answers to the cause behind Azusa's smile.

"Oh, well." Azusa blushed and scratched the back of his head. "I guess I got to have lunch with my girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?!" Ema and Yusuke shouted in surprise.

"How long have you been dating for?" Ema asked.

"Only for a little bit," Azusa said, taking out his phone and scrolling through it, then he turned it around and showed a picture to Ema. "This is her, Kya Mimiko. She's an artist for one of the animes I'm working on right now."

"She's so cute!" Ema exclaimed. "Has Tsubaki met her yet?"

Azusa shook his head, looking a little nervous. "No, not yet. We've set something up for next weekend though."

"That's wonderful, Azusa! I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Ema," Azusa said, still looking lost in the clouds.

No wonder he wore a smile Ema had never seen before. To her knowledge, this was Azusa's first girlfriend since high school. Azusa grabbed a sandwich from the fridge before giving his two siblings a nod and leaving. Ema turned to say something to Yusuke about Azusa's new girlfriend when she remembered what they'd been talking about before Azusa walked in. "Hey! Weren't we fighting?"

Yusuke groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. Why couldn't Azusa have stayed and talked to them longer about his new girlfriend? It might have distracted Ema enough for her to have forgotten about their argument for at least a little while.

~.~

The next Saturday night, Ema was sitting on her bed playing the latest video game Natsume had given her (it wasn't even on the market yet!), when she heard arguing outside her door.

"She's just using you!" She heard Tsubaki yell. "She's knows how popular you're becoming and she wants to use that to her own advantage in her career."

"That's ridiculous," Azusa snapped. "Kya-chan is a nice girl and we became friends before she knew who I was."

"Are you sure of that?" Tsubaki demanded. "Or maybe when she heard that Azusa Asahina was working on the same anime as her, she went looking for you."

Ema stared at her door in shock, having never heard Tsubaki and Azusa raise their voices at each other before. Ema was oblivious as the ghouls on the TV screen caught up to her character and devoured him.

"You're just jealous because for once in our lives someone noticed me instead of you. You are so obsessed with being the center of attention that you can't stand it if anyone likes someone else better than they like you."

Ema's eyes widened and her heart ached at the twins' harsh words to each other. Silence reigned on the other side of her door for a while. Finally, Tsubaki said, "The person's happiness who matters most to me in this world is Azusa's. I would never do anything to get in your way if I believed the woman you were dating felt the same way about you as you do about her."

There was the soft sound of walking and then a door shutting. A sound rang out as though Azusa had punched a wall and Ema jumped, then the door next to her room slammed shut.

Ema sat in bed, the controller dangling loosely from her hands as she debated whether or not she should try talking to one of the twins, and if so which one. Eventually she decided that since she wasn't even supposed to have heard that conversation, she shouldn't say anything for now. Sighing sadly, Ema went back to her game, but when she got killed three times in ten minutes, she decided she didn't have the energy to play anymore and went to bed.

~.~

Ema pursed her lips as she looked at the text message from Ukyo letting her know that he wouldn't be able to pick her up. Even though high school was still two years away, Ema was checking out different high schools in the area, trying to decide which one she wanted to get into. Yusuke hadn't started looking yet, but Ukyo and, surprisingly, Kaname, had been encouraging Ema to make the decision now so that she knew what kind of grades she needed to get in junior high in order to get into the high school of her choice later.

She had _not_ put Bright Centrair on the list of high schools to check out, despite Iori telling her that she should. He'd assured her that he'd help her study for high school exams and that she could hang out with him and his girlfriend Fuyuka if she got in. Ema, however, knew her limits and she was not smart enough to get into Bright Centrair. At least, not without giving up her gaming in favor of studying instead, which she would never do.

Ema started listing off her older brothers and their schedules in her head to figure out who she could call for a ride home. Masaomi would still be at the hospital and the twins were both in the recording studio late today. Then Ema remembered that Kaname got off from the shrine early today. She flipped through her contacts until she found his name, then hit call.

~.~

Kaname's eyebrow quirked in irritation when his phone rang. "Sorry," he apologized with a smile to the beautiful woman sitting across the table from him. He took his phone out of his pocket, intending to silence it until he saw who the caller was. It wasn't very often that he got a call from his little sister.

"Hello?"

"Hi Kana-nii, Ukyo was supposed to pick me up from checking out high schools today, but something came up at his work. Could you come pick me up?"

Kaname paused as he looked across the table at his date again. She had her arms crossed and gave Kaname a pouting look over him paying attention to his phone instead of her. It was a shame to cancel a date with such a beautiful woman halfway through, but Kaname only had one number one woman in his life. All the rest fell into the number two category.

"Yeah. I'll be there as soon as I can. Text me the address, okay?"

"Okay! Thank you, Kaname!" Kaname smiled as he hung up, charmed, as he always was, at Ema's excitement and gratitude over small favors.

"Sorry, Ayame-chan," Kaname apologized again. "My little sister is stranded and needs me to go pick her up."

Ayame pouted again, pushing her lips out. "Can't you just stay until we're done? I've been looking forward to having you all to myself, Kaname-kun."

"No," Kaname said, shaking his head. He knew that if he'd told Ema he was on a date she would have either found another brother to bring her home or waited until Kaname was done, but he liked Ema relying on him. And if he told her no now, she might not ask him again. That's what his brothers would do, deciding that Kaname was too girl crazy to bother taking care of family first.

Kaname put on his jacket and went to stand when Ayame reached a hand and grasped Kaname's wrist. "Is a little girl really more important to you than I am?"

Kaname stood and stared down at Ayame. "You know," he said, gently removing her hand from his wrist, "you're not near as cute as I first thought you were." Ayame gaped in outrage as Kaname turned and strolled away.

~.~

Ema leaned against the brick wall around the high school as she waited for Kaname, scrolling through the website of the gaming company Natsume worked for. They had announced the release of upcoming games that Ema wanted to talk about with him.

When she heard loud laughter she looked up to see a group of woman who looked to be in their twenties walking her way. Ema's eyes widened when she recognized one of them. It was Kya Mimiko, Azusa's girlfriend. Things were still tense at home because of Tsubaki and Azusa arguing over Azusa dating Mimiko. Tsubaki stood by his statement that Mimiko was just using Azusa and Azusa wouldn't forgive Tsubaki for saying something like that about his girlfriend.

As the group came closer, Ema wondered if she should introduce herself to Mimiko or if that would be awkward. She was still debating whether she should when Mimiko's phone rang. She pulled it out and rolled her eyes. "Him again. Why can't he just let me be for a while?"

"Ah, don't talk like that Kya-chan," one of her friends said. "I wish I had a boyfriend as cute and attentive as yours."

Ema's heart seized when she heard those words and realized who Mimiko was talking about. How could Mimiko talk so disparagingly of Azusa? He was one of the nicest people Ema had ever met.

"Whatever," Mimiko brushed off, putting her phone back in her purse. "I like wild types. Azusa is too tame for me. He's just a useful boyfriend because my life is really hard right now and he does a lot for me. Also, he's becoming a really popular voice actor and he already has a lot of connections. Being his girlfriend is just smart thinking."

One of her friends laughed. "You're such a predator, Kya-chan, but poor Asahina-san seems to really like you." The group laughed again as they continued on and Ema clenched her fist in rage. Tsubaki had been right about Mimiko, but what was Ema supposed to do about it? Would Azusa believe her if he hadn't believed his own twin brother? Or would he just get mad at Ema and stop talking to her too?

Kaname arrived a few minutes later and Ema slowly climbed into his car, barely acknowledging him. Kaname threw her concerned glances as he drove, watching as she sat quietly and stared at her hands.

"Ema?" He prompted gently. "Is something wrong?"

Ema startled and looked over at Kaname before going back to staring at her hands. "I heard something that I wasn't supposed to hear, but it's something that someone else should know. And that someone else might not be happy about me interfering. Should I keep what I heard to myself?"

They drove in silence as Kaname thought about his answer. "I think that if what you heard would hurt that person you think should know, then you shouldn't keep it to yourself. Even if it might make that person upset with you, I think they'd probably rather know than not. I know that I wouldn't want a friend or sibling to keep something like that from me."

Ema looked sad, but resolute as she nodded her head. "Okay. Thanks, Kaname."

~.~

That night after dinner, Ema stood nervously outside Azusa's room. Finally, she got up enough courage to knock on his door. When he answered, he looked down at her in surprise. "Yes, Ema?"

"Um, could I talk to you?" She clutched her shirt in her hands, an old nervous habit that she hadn't done in years.

"Sure," Azusa said, moving back to allow Ema to enter his room. "What did you want to talk about?"

Ema went over and stood by the edge of Azusa's bed as he sat down, her heart thumping rapidly. She felt almost sick with the fear that Azusa wouldn't believe her. "I…overheard something today that I need to tell you."

"Okay," Azusa said slowly when Ema didn't continue. "What did you hear?"

"Well, I was standing outside Riku High School and a group of young women walked by. One of them looked just like the picture you showed me of Kya Mimiko, and I heard her friends call her that. She—" Ema stopped herself before she repeated what Mimiko had said when Azusa called her. Ema couldn't say those cruel words to Azusa. "They talked about Mimiko-san's boyfriend and Mimiko-san said that she was only dating him because of everything he did for her and because of the connections he had. Then one of her friends called the boyfriend Asahina-san." Ema's voice got quieter and quieter as she finished talking.

Azusa sat on his bed looking at Ema in disbelief before the look changed to anger and he jumped to his feet. "Did Tsubaki tell you to say this?"

Ema backed up, curling her arms against her chest and shaking her head. "No, it happened earlier today! Kaname picked me up afterwards and I was really upset. I told him that I heard something I wasn't meant to, but that I knew someone who should know it and I asked him if I should tell that person. You can ask Kaname about it if you don't believe me! Tsubaki hasn't said anything to me about Mimiko-san."

Azusa said nothing.

"Azusa-san," Ema said hesitantly, referring to him more formally than she had in over a year, "has Mimiko-san ever called you or texted you for anything other than to complain about something or to ask you to do something for her?"

Azusa seemed to think for a minute and then looked shocked as he slowly sat back down. "But, that's what people do in relationships. They rely on each other and listen to each other's troubles."

"Yes," Ema said gently. "But they also ask about the other person, and do things for the other person. Relationships are supposed to be about give and take." She paused. "Does that happen with you and Mimiko-san?"

Suddenly, Azusa dropped his head into hands. "I'm such an idiot."

"No!" Ema protested, moving to sit beside Azusa and hesitantly putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're not an idiot."

"Yes I am," he said bitterly. "Tsubaki told me weeks ago that Kya was just using me and I refused to listen to him. If I'd bothered to think about any of the things you just said, I would have realized that he was right. I guess I was so excited to think that someone actually noticed me instead of Tsubaki that I didn't want to think about those things." He laughed self-deprecatingly. "That fact alone should have been my first clue that Mimiko wasn't being honest about her feelings. Who would ever notice me over Tsubaki?"

"That's not true!" Ema argued, pulling on Azusa's shoulder until he looked at her. "Any girl worthwhile would be lucky beyond belief to get a boyfriend like you. Yes, Tsubaki is vivacious and fun, but you're considerate and attentive."

"And boring," Azusa added, looking entirely unconvinced.

Ema growled in frustration. "Do you know what one of Mimiko-san's friends said about you? She said that Mimiko-san should appreciate you more because she'd love to have a boyfriend as cute and caring as you. Azusa, some girls might like to date Tsubaki because he's exciting, or notice him first because he's loud, but a lot of girls will like you because you _listen_ and remember things that others tell you. I know that it makes me feel like you really care when you remember the things that I tell you."

Azusa finally looked like he was starting to believe some of what Ema was saying, but then he looked miserable and dropped his face into his hands. "What am I supposed to say to Tsubaki?"

"Just say you're sorry," Ema said. She stood up and held her hands out to Azusa. "Do it right now so you don't worry about it all night long. I'll take you to him."

Azusa gave Ema his hand and let her pull him up and out of his room. She still held his hand as she knocked on Tsubaki's door. He answered a moment later and looked at the two in wary surprise. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Azusa and I were just talking," Ema announced, "and we came to some conclusions about some things, and now Azusa needs to talk to you about it." Ema gave Azusa's hand a squeeze before letting go and pushing him into Tsubaki's room. Tsubaki stumbled back in surprise to let Azusa in and then Ema grabbed Tsubaki's doorknob and shut the door.

She gave the door a fond smile before walking to her room, feeling much better about everything. Azusa and Tsubaki and been best friends for years and Ema was sure they'd be able to work everything out. By morning, everything would be back to normal.


	8. Dreams

**Chapter 8: Dreams**

"What club did you join this year, Fuuto?" Masaomi asked one night at dinner.

"Dance," Fuuto answered simply before going back to his meal.

"It must be tough," Masaomi said. "You get home from school really late most days."

"Yep. Lots of practice and studying." Fuuto didn't bother looking up from his noodles to say this.

"It's good to be involved and enjoy your first year of junior high," Ukyo commented, "but don't let it affect your grades. School comes first."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not an idiot like Yusuke. My grades are as good as they've ever been."

"Hey!" Yusuke protested, jumping to his feet and slamming his hands on the table. "I'm not an idiot!"

"Sit down!" Ukyo ordered, glaring at Yusuke.

Yusuke muttered something under his breath, but sat back down. "You better not plan on entering the same high school Ema and I will go to. The last thing I need is to have to suffer through seeing you around school."

Fuuto chuckled. "Afraid that if your classmates find out your little brother is smarter than you they'll think even less of you? I'm not sure that's possible, Yusuke-kun. Or maybe…you just want Ema to yourself. Not that you have anything to worry about. Either way I wouldn't go to your school. Your stupidity might be catching."

"What?!" Yusuke exclaimed, his face flaming bright red. His eyes shot to Ema, but she wasn't paying much attention to them. She'd been distracted ever since Fuuto said that he was in the dance club.

Tsubaki tsked at Yusuke. "Don't think that just because you're not blood related to Ema that I'll let you get away with that. I won't share my little sister so easily."

"Th—that's not what this is about!" Yusuke protested. "I just don't want to have to see Fuuto's ugly face any more than I have to!"

"Yusuke and I don't even see each other at school," Ema added, not really understanding what they were talking about, having missed the first half of the conversation.

"What do you mean?" Ukyo asked. "Don't you two ever eat lunch together?"

"We don't even go to school and come home together."

The eyes of all Yusuke's older brothers turned to look at him.

"What?" He demanded, shrinking under all the attention.

"You go to the same school as our precious, _vulnerable,_ lovely, and _only_ little sister and you don't even go to and from school with her?" Tsubaki demanded. "What if something happened to Ema? What if someone tried to grab her?"

"There are some unsavory people who take the train sometimes," Masaomi said with a frown on his face. "I'd feel more comfortable if you two were together. I thought that you two _did_ take the train together."

"Well I—I," Yusuke faltered, not knowing what to say. He'd never considered the possibility of something happening to Ema before. "Fine. I'll go to school with her."

"Oh, no," Ema said, a familiar look entering her eye that made him flinch. Ema still hadn't completely forgiven Yusuke for avoiding her at school and the last two years had been rough for him. Things were mostly normal between them at home (partially, Yusuke believed, because Ema hadn't wanted to get Yusuke in trouble with their brothers despite how hurt she felt, which just made Yusuke love her even more), but occasionally Ema would refuse to do homework with him or stop playing video games with Wataru or Subaru if Yusuke joined in. "I don't want to _inconvenience_ Yusuke with my presence outside the house. I've been going to school by myself since I was five. I'm sure I'll be just fine."

Ukyo stared hard at Ema and Yusuke, but no one said anything more about it, other than Tsubaki's comment that he was buying Ema pepper spray to put in her school bag.

When Fuuto got up from the table, Ema hurried to get up to, putting her dishes by the sink before following Fuuto. When Fuuto reached his room and realized that Ema was behind him, he turned to look at her. "What do you want?"

"Why did you lie?"

"What?"

"Why did you lie at dinner? You told Masaomi that you'd joined the dance club, but at the beginning of the year you told Ukyo that you'd joined the drama club, and when Hikaru visited a few months ago, you told him you'd joined the singing club. What are you really doing after school every day, Fuuto?" All three of those clubs were believable since Fuuto attended a special junior high for students who wanted to join the entertainment business, but obviously he couldn't be a member of all three.

Fuuto looked surprised before he covered it up with a mocking look. "What's the matter, Nee-san? Afraid I'm getting into trouble?" The Nee-san, as always, had a sarcastic lilt to it.

"Well," Ema said, tilting her head to the side, "I don't know. I really don't know you well enough to say. You've never let me get close to you."

Fuuto rolled his eyes and turned back to his door.

"Hey, what's that?" Ema asked, reaching for a paper sticking out of Fuuto's pocket.

"What's what?" Fuuto asked. When Ema grasped the paper and pulled, Fuuto immediately grasped for it and pulled it away from her. " _This_ is none of your business," Fuuto said, leaning against his door and holding the paper protectively to his chest as he glared at Ema.

Ema crossed her arms and tried to stare her little brother down. "If you're doing something bad, Masaomi and Ukyo need to know. Either show me that paper, or I'm telling them that you've been lying about your after school club."

Fuuto reluctantly held the paper out to Ema, continuing to glare at her.

Ema's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion as she read the paper. "Idol auditions for kids twelve to fifteen? Is this what you're doing after school, Fuuto? Why would you hide this from our brothers?"

"Oh please," Fuuto said, ripping the paper from Ema's hands. "Like they would actually care."

"Of course they would care," Ema said, surprised at Fuuto's attitude. Then again, he never seemed happy to participate in family activities. And though he was usually mean to Ema, he wasn't that much nicer to most of their brothers. He seemed to get along well enough with Iori and a few others, but that was it.

"You don't get it," Fuuto scoffed. "I'm the second youngest out of a family of _thirteen_ boys. I'm beyond being old news at that point. You, on the other hand,are the _only_ girl. Of course you get a lot of attention. If you sneeze it's information that has to pass between everyone."

"Is that why you don't like me?" Ema asked in surprise. Now that she thought about it, Fuuto _didn't_ get a lot of attention from their brothers. Neither did Yusuke, Iori, or Subaru. It was like the younger brothers just got passed over. It was different for Wataru since he was the youngest, and as Ema understood it, the youngest was usually spoiled.

Fuuto rolled his eyes. "Please. Like I'd ever be jealous of you."

"But, don't you need a parent's or guardian's consent for something like idol auditions?"

Fuuto looked at Ema blankly. "I forged mom's signature, obviously. It's not like she's ever here to do something like that."

"But—but," Ema wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say. With all the hours Fuuto was away from home after school, he must have spent a lot of time practicing for these auditions, which meant that they were really important to him. And he'd been doing it all by himself. "Let me know how it goes, okay?" Ema said as Fuuto started going into his room. "If you promise to tell me, I promise I won't tell Masaomi and Ukyo that you haven't really been going to club after school."

"Whatever," Fuuto replied, rolling his eyes.

~.~

A week later, Ema got a text while at school. It read 'Guess who's going to be Japan's next teen idol?' Ema barely kept her squeal contained. As it was, some of the students next to her started looking around for whoever made the high-pitched noise. Ema texted back 'That's so great! I'm so excited for you!' and slid her phone back into her backpack. She tried to focus on the lesson, but instead she kept thinking of what she should make Fuuto in order to celebrate. He always ordered cheesecake for dessert whenever they ate out, and Ema knew that he horded chocolate in his room.

Ema spent her break in the school's library looking up recipes for chocolate cheesecakes. On the way home she hummed as she stopped by the grocery store to pick up what she needed. She hoped that Fuuto would like it.

~.~

Ema hid the cheesecake in the back of the fridge, knowing that if any of her brothers saw it, she'd have to explain why she'd made it, and she figured Fuuto should be the one to tell them. All during dinner she hoped that Fuuto would make the announcement, but couldn't say she was really surprised when he didn't say anything to anyone.

After Ema finished helping Ukyo with the dishes and all her brothers were in their rooms or distracted by the TV, Ema grabbed the cheesecake and a fork and went to Fuuto's room.

When he opened the door, he looked at her and the cheesecake in surprise. "What's that for?"

"To celebrate, of course!" Ema exclaimed quietly. "I wanted to do something to congratulate you."

"You know that as an idol I have to watch my figure and not eat things that will make me fat, right? I can't just eat anything I want to like regular people."

"Oh," Ema said, deflating as she stared at the chocolate cheesecake. What had she been thinking?

Fuuto chuckled and gripped Ema's arm, pulling her into the room and shutting the door. "Just kidding."

"What?"!" Ema exclaimed, looking up into Fuuto's face to see him smirking at her.

"Well," Fuuto said, taking the plate and fork from Ema, "I should watch what I eat, but I can have a piece of cheesecake that my older sister made just for me." Though Fuuto wouldn't admit it to Ema, he'd been happy that he had at least one person to share the news of his success with. It wasn't as exciting to become an idol if you didn't have anyone to tell about it.

"So what happens now?" Ema asked. "Are you working with a group or are you solo? Do you know when your debut will be? Can I come?"

Fuuto brought one hand to his forehead and shook his head. "You are such a dork," he said, but Ema didn't take too much offense since he was smiling as he said it. "Sit down and I'll explain it all to you."

Despite the fact that it was a school night, Ema and Fuuto talked late into the night, and eventually Fuuto told Ema to go get a fork so they could share the cheesecake.

~.~

"You have to tell our brothers," Ema told Fuuto a few weeks later. "Your debut is next weekend and there are posters of you all over the city. You've already had to miss school to do TV interviews. It's a miracle that Ukyo and Masaomi haven't found out about that yet."

"No it's not," Fuuto said in a bored tone, sprawled out on his bed. "I just forged absence letters with their signatures."

Ema sighed and shook her head. "Well, you're going to have to keep missing school, and pretty soon you'll probably start missing a _lot_ of school, so you should tell them now."

"Fine."

"At dinner tonight would be good."

Fuuto rolled his eyes. "You're so bossy." Fuuto would maybe claim that he enjoyed having one of his older siblings actually pay attention to him and try to look after him (more than just Ukyo telling him to do well in school and to be home by dinner), except he'd never considered Ema to be his sister. He still didn't. That _wasn't_ to say he didn't care about her. He was caring about her more and more as she supported all the work he was doing for his debut (though he did find it dorky that she'd looked up his TV interviews and watched them online). He'd even started talking to her about his dreams of eventually moving from being an idol to being an actor.

When Ukyo called to say that he was taking dinner out of the oven, Ema dragged Fuuto upstairs with her. When all their brothers had arrived, Ema announced, "Fuuto has something he needs to tell everyone."

"I haven't been going to club after school," Fuuto admitted. "I was actually practicing for an idol audition. The company loved me and my debut is next weekend."

"Huh. That's a surprise," Tsubaki commented before returning to his conversation with Azusa.

"That means you'll be missing a lot of school," Ukyo said with a frown. "If you let your grades drop that will be a problem."

"I know, I know," Fuuto brushed off. "I'll take care of it."

"That means Fuuto-nii is going to be on the TV!" Wataru exclaimed. "Just like Tsuba-nii and Azu-nii."

"No, Wataru," Fuuto said with a smirk. "Not like Azu-nii and Tsuba-nii. They're only talented enough to get their _voices_ on the TV. I'm so talented that _all_ of me is going to be on the TV."

"What was that?" Tsubaki ground out, whipping around to glare at Fuuto.

Ema stared at her brothers in disbelief. "That's it? Our _twelve-_ year-old brother has achieved his dream of becoming an idol his _first_ year in junior high, and that's all that you guys have to say to him? Isn't anyone excited for him?"

"I can do your hair for you," Louis offered.

"That is an offer that I'll take," Fuuto said. "You, unlike some of our brothers, are actually talented."

"Was that directed at me?" Tsubaki demanded.

Ema couldn't believe that Fuuto had been right about their brothers not being supportive of him. They all acted so…blasé about the whole thing. Maybe this family was just too amazing. Their older brothers had accomplished too much that they just weren't impressed by anything. If they cared so little about one of their brothers becoming an _idol,_ how would Ema ever impress them with whatever career she ended up in?

Ema fumed after dinner as she walked with Fuuto back to his room. "Well, _I'm_ proud of you, Fuuto," she informed him. "I think that you're amazing and I'm excited to see what you accomplish."

"So you'll be at my debut cheering me on, _Nee-san_?" Fuuto asked, spinning to face Ema so that their faces were only inches apart. Ema blushed as she backed up a little. Though she'd grown closer with Fuuto the last few weeks (which made her veryhappy), his tone threw her. For the first time when he said 'Nee-san', he didn't sound sarcastic. He sounded…like he was flirting with her. But, of course, she had to be wrong about that.

"You know I'll be there."

Fuuto's smile softened. "Yeah. I do know. I just wanted to hear you say it."

~.~

Fuuto's debut went well and he almost became an overnight sensation. Because of the junior high he'd enrolled in, the school was understanding about Fuuto having to often change his schedule at the last minute.

Ema was really impressed with how maturely Fuuto handled all the stress and fame of his new job. He acted just like an adult when it came to his work, though it did lead to him acting a little more childishly at home, but Ema felt that he was probably entitled to it.

"Neesan," Fuuto said, coming up behind Ema as she did homework with Yusuke and wrapping his arms around her. "Would you make something for me to eat? I had to miss lunch today because the fans wouldn't let us leave the stadium. They crowded around the car until we had to get out and sign more autographs and take pictures."

"We're doing homework, Fuuto," Yusuke ground out. "Get yourself something to eat out of the fridge. Don't act like some little kid who can't get his own food."

Fuuto removed his arms and Ema turned to see Fuuto staring at the ground. "I just wanted to spend a little bit of time with my only sister." He raised his eyes to Ema, looking at her from beneath his long eyelashes. "I see so little of you now that I'm gone all the time." He looked back at the ground and Ema's heart melted.

"I can make something for you, Fuuto. I'm almost done, anyway."

Yusuke gaped as Ema stood up, then started sputtering. "Are you seriously buying this, Ema? Fuuto's just playing you!"

"Yusuke!" Ema scolded. "Fuuto's rarely home anymore. If he wants me to make him something, it's no trouble."

Behind Ema's back, Fuuto gave Yusuke a victorious grin before following Ema into the kitchen. Fuuto was well aware of Yusuke's pathetic crush on Ema. He hadn't cared about it before other than to harass Yusuke over it, but now…He was going to enjoy interrupting Yusuke's time with Ema whenever he could.

~.~

At dinner that night, Ema noticed that only one brother was missing, and it was one who never missed without contacting either her or Ukyo to let them know. After dinner, Ema texted Iori and knocked on his bedroom door, but he didn't answer either. Becoming more worried, Ema went outside to look for Iori's bike to see whether or not he'd come home after school.

The moment Ema stepped outside, she saw Iori sitting on the porch steps.

"Iori," Ema said in relief, holding a hand to her heart. "Thank goodness I found you. I was worried that something might have happened."

"Something did happen," Iori mumbled in an almost unintelligible voice. Ema took a closer look at Iori and realized that he looked despondent.

"What happened, Iori?" Ema asked gently, kneeling down so she was eye level with him. "How long have you been out here for?"

"It doesn't matter," Iori said, covering his face with one of his hands. "She broke up with me. We were supposed to go to college together. I thought we'd always be together."

"Who?" Ema asked. "Fuyuka?" Then she felt stupid. It wasn't as though Iori had any other girlfriend. "Why?" Iori had brought Fuyuka home a few times and she and Iori always seemed to get along so well. The two brilliant and kind students from Bright Centrair.

Iori sent Ema a dark look that made her heart skip a beat in fear. She'd never had anyone look at her like that before and she flinched back. Iori covered his eyes with his hair and looked down at the ground. "She didn't believe that I could stay true to her. Other girls always talk to me and Fuyuka thought that she would lose me to one of them, so she broke up with me. I tried to convince her that she was wrong, but she wouldn't listen to me."

Ema felt a little calmer as Iori spoke. That was why he had such a dark look in his eyes. He was upset at Fuyuka and at the situation, not at Ema. "That's terrible," Ema said quietly, laying a gentle hand on Iori's knee. "I don't believe that you'd ever do something like that. You always keep your word."

Iori's hand slid over Ema's and when he looked at her again, he looked a little less despondent. "You're always true too, aren't you? Like me. Will you always be here, Ema?"

"Well, families are forever, so yes, I'll always be here, Iori. I want to be there to help you when things go wrong and you're struggling, and to cheer you on when things go right and you succeed."

"Good," Iori said firmly, tightening his hand around Ema's.

 **A/N:** Those who've only seen the anime probably don't know this, but in the novels and the game, Iori is a bit of a yandere.


	9. Dates and Basketball

**A/N:** Ugg, I've been reading over past chapters and fixing some of the mistakes I made before posting them. How did I miss so many mistakes?! I apologize for my sloppiness.

 **Chapter 9: Dates and Basketball**

"You're in such good shape for a man with a desk job, Natsume-kun," Ayame, the friend of one of Natsume's coworkers said with a flirty smile, giving his arm a squeeze.

"Uh, thanks," Natsume said awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable with the situation. He'd gone out to drinks with his coworkers, as he did upon occasion, and lately Ayame always seemed to be there. It wasn't like Natsume had anything against her. She was a vibrant and funny woman. He just wasn't used to a woman being so bold. And she kind of reminded him of Tsubaki, which creeped him out just a little bit.

"You must go to the gym a lot after work."

"Not really," Natsume said. "I just go running most mornings."

"This guy was almost a professional athlete," Wakabe said, jerking a thumb at Natsume. "He was a runner in high school."

Natsume sighed and Ayame's eyes lit up. "That's cool. Why'd you decide to join a gaming company instead?"

Natsume shrugged, hardly willing to discuss the topic with a near stranger. "You can't make much of a career out of running. That's all."

"Smart choice," Ayame said, nodding her head. "If you will all will excuse me, I need to use the lady's room."

Wakabe watched Ayame leave, her tight dress hugging her curves. Once she was out of sight, Wakabe turned and smacked Natsume's arm. "Dude, what is wrong with you? Ayame-chan so likes you and she's _hot._ She flirts with you ever time we go out for drinks. Why haven't you asked her out yet?"

"Yeah, Natsume-kun, what's the matter, you don't like girls?" Reyna, Ayame's friend and Natsume's coworker, teased.

"I like girls just fine," Natsume said, not liking where this was headed. Why were his coworkers trying to push him into dating someone?

"Then what's the problem with Ayame?" Reyna asked. "You're going to give the poor girl a complex by not asking her out when she keeps throwing herself at you. If I had a yen for every time she complimented you, I'd be a rich woman by now. You spend too much time holed up in that apartment of yours all by yourself. You need more social interaction."

"What do you call this?" Natsume asked, spreading out his hands to indicate the bar and their coworkers.

"Mandatory," Wakabe stated. "You'd be harassed mercilessly at work if you didn't come to the bar with us. We're talking about going out and having some fun. How long has it been since you've been on a date?"

"I guess it's been a while," Natsume admitted, thinking that maybe he could go on one date with Ayame. At least to stop his coworkers from harassing him and to get Ayame to stop blatantly flirting with him. And who knew, maybe the date would turn out to be fun.

~.~

A week later, Natsume sat across from Ayame in a nice restaurant, wearing a suit and tie. Ayame was acting like her normal vivacious self, but it felt awkward to Natsume to be with Ayame without his coworkers around.

"So, do you think you'll stick with this whole gaming company thing for a while?" Ayame asked. "I'm not really into video games, but your group seems to like them."

"Well, working on them is what we've chosen to do for a living," Natsume responded bluntly. That was another problem with the date. He and Ayame appeared to have nothing in common. The woman, or girl really, that Natsume spent most of his time with outside of his female coworkers was Ema, and though Natsume knew it wasn't fair, he kept comparing his date to the times he spent with Ema. She was much more fun to be with.

Natsume felt his phone buzz while Ayame chatted with the waiter about the wine menu and he surreptitiously pulled his phone out to check the text. To his surprise, it was from Ema. She was having trouble with the latest demo he'd given her and had texted asking if she could come by his apartment and have him show her how to get through some tricky parts.

"So, what do you think, Natsume-kun?" Ayame asked, pulling his attention away from his phone. "Should we get a nice wine here or go out for dessert at the bakery Reyna-chan told us to check out?"

"Actually, I already have plans for after dinner. Sorry I didn't mention it before." Keeping his eyes on Ayame, he texted 'Come on over'. He felt a twinge of guilt at Ayame's upset and hurt expression, but this date was going nowhere and there was no point in leading her on.

Natsume arrived home later to find Ema sitting outside his apartment door. "Sorry, Ema. Did I make you wait long?"

Ema shook her head. "There's no need for you to apologize, I'm the one who texted you late on a weekend evening. Were you at work when I texted you?"

"Uh…" Natsume paused as he opened his door, not sure how to respond. He didn't want to lie and tell Ema that he'd been at work, but he found himself not wanting to tell her that he was on a date either. He told himself that then she might tell Azusa and Tsubaki, who would then call and harass him and it'd be awkward. He also didn't want to say that he was out with friends, because then Ema would feel guilty and think that she'd pulled him away from something else he wanted to be doing. "Just an event that I had scheduled for earlier this evening," he finally said as he loosened his tie and took off his suit jacket. "It was a dinner that I had to attend."

"Oh. I hoped I didn't interrupt anything." Ema put a hand to her mouth, looking concerned.

"Not at all," Natsume assured her. "Now, why don't we put the game in and let's see if I can't get you passed where you're stuck." The game was one or two player, so they both sat on the floor and played. Once they got passed the part that Ema had been stuck on, Ema was so excited that they kept going. Natsume always enjoyed playing with Ema. She was good at video games and her enthusiasm and determination always made him smile. She made an excellent demo-player when he and his coworkers were unsure about a game they were developing.

When Natsume's phone rang, Natsume picked it up and held it between his head and shoulder without pausing the game. "Yeah?"

Kaname's voice came through the other end. "Please tell me our adorable little sister is still with you."

"Yeah, why?"

"Why? Because it's midnight and she's not home. What are you two doing that you don't know what time it is?"

"Seriously?" Natsume asked in surprise, lifting his wrist to look at his watch. "Sorry. I was helping Ema get through some tough parts on a game demo that I gave her. The time must have gotten away from us."

"So long as Ema's safe, that's all that I care about," Kaname said, sounding equal parts relieved and exasperated. "If you two want to play video games at your apartment late into the night that's fine, but please let us know beforehand."

"I'll try," Natsume promised. "Talk to you later."

"Take good care of her. We've only got one little sister, you know." Yeah, like any of them could ever forget the fact that they went from having an entire baseball team's worth of brothers to also having a sister. Especially when that sister featured so prominently in their lives. Natsume hadn't missed the changes occurring in his brothers. He'd watched as some of them became more mature and more open after Ema joined the family. And more responsible. Kaname had never called Natsume over any of their brothers staying at his apartment late at night.

"Yeah, yeah," Natsume responded before hanging up.

"Is something wrong?" Ema asked, pausing the game.

"Kaname called to point out how late it was and to make sure that you're okay," Natsume answered.

Ema tilted her head to look at Natsume's watch and gasped. "I had no idea it was so late! I'm sorry, Natsume."

"Don't worry about it," Natsume brushed off. "It's not like either of us has anything we need to do in the morning. I can take you home now if you want. Or if you'd prefer, we can keep playing and you can spend the night. I'll give you the bed and sleep on the floor."

"Is that really okay?" Ema asked, looking shy.

"I wouldn't offer if it wasn't," Natsume answered honestly.

"I…want to stay here," Ema said. "It's more fun to play video games with you than with any of our other brothers. You're better at it then them."

Natsume smiled and they resumed the game.

~.~

"What was that, Asahina?" The coach demanded as the ball hit the rim and bounced off. "You're my best shooter! And passer and runner. Or, at least, you're supposed to be. Where is your mind, boy?"

"Sorry, Coach," Subaru apologized, wiping the sweat from his forehead and trying to tamp down his frustration. He'd been sucking all month and he couldn't figure out why. His sloppy performance lost them a game two weeks ago. Even worse than that, although he was only a junior in high school, the college scouts were already watching his performance. The real test would be his senior year, but he couldn't afford to be off his game now.

"Go again, Asahina," the coach ordered. "And keep going until it's perfect."

Subaru nodded and got into position again, his teammates moving to try to block him. By the end of practice, he still wasn't performing well and the coach threatened to bench Subaru during the next game if he didn't shape up.

Subaru dragged his feet all the way home, unable to do anything but think about his poor performance on the court. He'd never had a slump like this before. What was wrong with him? When he got home, he dropped his stuff on the living room floor and Ema appeared a moment later.

"Welcome home, Subaru! You got here just in time, dinner is ready. I was afraid that you wouldn't make it. Did practice run long today?"

"Yeah," Subaru said, scratching the back of his head. Though his lateness was more because of his slow pace walking home than him having to stay late at practice.

"Is something wrong?" Ema asked, peering up at Subaru.

Subaru blushed at having Ema's focus on him. He appreciated how caring Ema was, but sometimes he just didn't know what to do with the attention. "Just some problems with the team," Subara said. "Don't worry, I'll get it figured out."

"If you say so. If you need an ear to listen, I'm always here," Ema offered.

"I know," Subaru said with a smile, following Ema to the dinner table.

During dinner, Azusa asked Ema, "So, have you picked which high school you want to attend yet?"

"Yes. Hinode High is my top choice. I'll be taking the entrance exam for it in a few months."

"Me too," Yusuke added. "We'll be going to the same high school."

"Assuming you even get in, Yusuke," Tsubaki said, eliciting a round of yelling from Yusuke. Subaru stared down at his dinner, feeling oddly disappointed. He liked it when Ema came to his games and had kind of been hoping that she'd come to his high school so that she might be there for more of his games. She always got so excited, and it was fun to have someone to share basketball with. Especially after Natsume ran away from sports.

~.~

After dinner, Ema rushed to her room, wanting to get to the next level on her game. She was _so_ close to level eight. All she had to do was figure out how to beat the zombie hoard guarding the dungeon and the necromancer controlling them.

When Ema reached her room she remembered that she _might_ be forgetting some homework. Ema sighed and gave her game controller a mournful look before reaching for her phone to text Mahoko about the homework (she was fairly sure that if _she_ had forgotten, chances were that Yusuke had too). Except, her phone wasn't in her pocket. Ema frowned as she looked around her room, checking in her purse, her backpack and under her pillow and bed. Finally, Ema concluded that she must have left it downstairs in the kitchen.

When she reached the kitchen she could hear Subaru and Tsubaki talking since it was their turn to do the dishes.

"I saw that look on your face when Ema announced her high school," Tsubaki was saying. "You're disappointed that she's not going to the same one as you, aren't you?"

"What? No!" Subaru denied. "Why would I care what high school she goes to?"

Tsubaki tsked. "First Yusuke and now you. I know that it's hard to resist our adorable little sister when she's close in age to you guys, but don't think that I'll hand over _my_ imouto-chan so easily. All my life I waited for a little sister, but got stuck with all you brothers instead. She's precious, you know?"

"Shut up!" Subaru said. "You—you don't know anything. You wanted her here from the beginning! It's not easy for me to have a girl in the house. It's annoying to have to watch what I wear around the house all the time. It was better when it was just us guys."

Subaru stomped from the kitchen, nearly running into Ema. His eyes widened, first in surprise, then horror when he saw her. "Ema—"

Not knowing what else to do, Ema spun on her heel and ran back to her room. Why? Why did she have to hear that? She thought that she and Subaru were friends now. Ever since she first went to one of his basketball games. Had he just been pretending to make things easier around the house? Or because he wanted to spare Ema's feelings?

Ema reached her room and shut the door, leaning her back against it before sliding to the ground. She'd thought that she was a complete member of the Asahina family now, and that everyone else felt that way too. Maybe she was just kidding herself. Did anyone else feel the same way as Subaru?

A few moments later, a tentative knock came at her door. "E—Ema?" It was Subaru. "Ema, are you there?" Ema said nothing. "Listen, Ema, I'm sorry about in the kitchen. I didn't mean it. Tsubaki—he just gets me so mad with the things he says sometimes. I lash out, but I don't mean it. _Really,_ Ema, I'm glad that you're here."

Part of Ema wanted to stay silent and sulking on the floor, but she couldn't just ignore Subaru when he was apologizing. Ema stood and opened the door a little. Subaru peered into Ema's eyes, looking sorry and hopeful before looking down at the ground.

Subaru continued. "All of us are glad that you're here, Ema. The Asahina family is better with you in it. Do you…" He paused and shifted uncomfortably. "Would you like to come to my game on Friday?"

A tight ball of hurt still sat in the middle of Ema's chest, but she couldn't say no to the vulnerable look on Subaru's face. Plus, she was well aware that Tsubaki's teasing _did_ set Subaru off sometimes. She'd seen him lash out at Tsubaki before. "I'll be there," she told him quietly.

~.~

That Friday, Subaru was still worried about how he'd play in the game. He'd improved a little in practice during the week, but definitely wasn't up to his usual standards. And now on top of being off his game, he felt bad for hurting Ema. Tsubaki's teasing had pissed him off and he'd already been confused and upset over his basketball performance, but that was no excuse for the things he'd said about Ema, whether she'd been close enough to hear him or not.

He stepped out of the locker room and paused in surprise when he saw one of his teammates with his girlfriend. The girl was holding both his hands and smiling up at him. "Good luck tonight, Naru-kun."

She lifted up on her toes and kissed her boyfriend. Subaru blushed bright red at the sight. He looked down at the ground and walked passed them, though he still heard his teammate say, "Ah, you know I'll play great tonight. I've got you here to cheer me on!"

Subaru stopped in shock when he heard those words, and the image of Ema holding his hands and giving him a good luck kiss flashed through his mind. His face burned even hotter, but something finally clicked and he realized why he'd been off his game. He liked Ema. He played better when she was there, but she'd been so busy with studying for high school exams that she hadn't been coming as often lately.

He put a hand to his forehead and mentally cursed his stupidity. How had it taken him so long to figure that out? He'd liked her for ages. At least for months, but probably for years. Then again, he was completely hopeless when it came to women. Was it really his fault for not realizing his true feelings for Ema?

With his new epiphany in mind, Subaru resolved to play an amazing game tonight. He didn't know if he could say anything to Ema after just barely realizing his feelings for her, but he could at least try to show her how he felt through his performance.

Unfortunately, the coach decided to keep Subaru out of the first half of the game. Subaru couldn't blame him, given his crappy performance during the week, but he fisted his hands on his knees and bounced his legs in irritation as he watched the players run back and forth on the court. When the halftime buzzer hit, their team was down by ten points.

"Coach, put me in for the second half," Subaru urged, and the coach looked at him doubtfully. "I figured out why I was struggling," Subaru promised. "It was…something going on in my life. I know that it shouldn't have affected my performance on the court and I promise that it won't ever again. Now that I have it figured out, I swear that I'll play well."

The coach looked between Subaru and the scoreboard before nodding his head. "All right, Asahina, but don't let your team down." Subaru nodded, a grateful smile lighting up his face before he ran out on the court. Thanks to Subaru, his team pulled ahead and won in the second half.

Before meeting with his team afterwards, Subaru found a moment to sneak away to speak with Ema.

"That was amazing, Subaru-kun," Ema told Subaru. She smiled as she spoke though it seemed to Subaru as though it wasn't as exuberant as her normal smile and his heart clenched at the thought. "You know, Natsume-kun is always praising how well you—"

"I don't want to hear about _him_ ," Subaru snapped, then immediately winced at his tone when Ema flinched. "I'm sorry, Ema. I didn't mean to sound like that." He really needed to do a better job of confronting his feelings, both the good and the bad. Although he didn't know if he could help it with Natsume. He hated hearing his brother's name and he especially hated hearing Ema talking about another guy.

"Thanks for coming tonight. I…I really appreciate your support at my games, Ema. I play better when you come to see me." It was on the tip of his tongue to admit that he needed her, but then he reminded himself that Ema was still in junior high and he was in high school. Now wasn't the time for this. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and instead said, "Maybe you're my good luck charm or something."

Ema smiled more sincerely this time, and said, "Then maybe I should come more often."

"I'm sure that my whole team would appreciate it," Subaru joked, wondering when he could tell Ema his real feelings for her.


	10. High School

**A/N:** I apologize for not posting yesterday! I had this chapter all ready and then completely forgot to post it. My only excuse is that I was out shopping for a new laptop since the one I'm using likes to freeze on me. I'll still be posting the next chapter tomorrow or Saturday.

 **guest 97:** I have a scenario a little like that coming up in the next chapter! Though I like your idea of Ema going on an actual date with a guy outside the Asahina family, so I might include that later on.

 **Chapter 10: High School**

She was just starting as a junior in high school this year. Rather young to have already made what was sure to be the biggest mistake of her life. Fuyuka bit her lip as she watched Iori walk by. What could she have been thinking when she broke up with Iori last year? He was perfect. Smart, athletic, handsome, and unfailingly kind to everyone.

If any girl tried to dream up the most perfect, attentive, best looking boyfriend possible, they'd probably dream up Iori Asahina. And what had Fuyuka done when she had that perfect boyfriend for herself? Left him because she was too afraid of him leaving her for someone better.

But Fuyuka still had hope. Iori had yet to date anyone else. At least, not anyone at school, and Fuyuka hadn't heard about him dating anyone outside of Bright Centrair either. She hoped that maybe Iori still cared about her too. Or, that he at least wasn't in love with anyone else and would give her a second chance. Surely he couldn't be in love with someone else or he'd be dating them. Someone as perfect as Iori would have no trouble getting any girl that he wanted.

Gathering up her courage, Fuyuka followed Iori out into the courtyard. "E-excuse me, Iori-kun?"

Iori turned to give her a questioning look, looking polite, as he always did when they crossed paths at school. "I…I just wanted to say—" She bowed her head and clasped her hands together, squeezing her eyes tightly shut. "I wanted to apologize for last year! When I broke up with you, I don't know what I was thinking. I was just so afraid of losing you that I lost my mind. If it's possible, I was hoping you might be willing to give me another chance. I still really care about you, Iori-kun."

Fuyuka risked opening her eyes to glance up at Iori and wished she hadn't. For the first time in the five years that she'd known Iori, his eyes looked cold. "I'm afraid I must decline. I found a woman who truly cares about me and who trusts me. All I care about now is her happiness." Iori then turned and walked away. Despite Fuyaka's fear and confusion over seeing Iori look so cold, she couldn't help wondering who this woman was.

~.~

"Mahoko-chan!" Ema greeted her friend enthusiastically.

"Ema-chan!" Mahoko called back, smiling as Ema ran over to her. Ema was excited to see Mahoko just for the sake of seeing her, of course since the two had been best friends for years, but this morning Ema was grateful to find Mahoko because although it was the third week of school, Ema still couldn't remember where their classroom was.

Although Ema had always been a good student, she found herself floundering as she entered her first year of high school. Everything was just so much bigger and the train on the way to Hinode High was always so crowded, which made her feel flustered and upset, and these feelings carried into the start of Ema's day at school. She wished that she could rely on Yusuke more, but things were the same as ever between them at school.

Ema and Mahoko chatted about homework as they walked to class. When they reached their classroom, Yusuke was already sitting and talking with some friends. Mahoko, who was the only one who knew that Ema and Yusuke were stepsiblings, rolled her eyes when she was him. Mahoko could be rather protective of Ema and she resented the fact that Yusuke never talked to Ema at school.

Ema tried her best to pay attention to the lesson when the teacher began talking, but as lunch got closer and closer she found it more and more difficult to listen to what the teacher said. She nervously chewed on the cap of her pen and idly took notes in between drawing flowers in her notebook. She flinched when the bell rang and took her time putting her things into her bag.

"Come on, Ema," Mahoko urged, looking down at her friend. "What's taking you so long?"

"Sorry," Ema apologized with a forced smile. "You can go on ahead if you'd like."

"All right," Mahoko agreed. "I'll see you at the cafeteria."

Ema dragged her feet as she walked to the cafeteria, hoping that she was late enough that she would miss him. She knew that she'd failed when she heard a call of, "Oye, Hinata!" behind her. Ema tensed and kept walking. The transition to high school wasn't difficult just because of all the changes in size, location, and homework, but because for the first time in Ema's life, she was being bullied.

"I don't know why you bother putting on the girl's uniform. It doesn't hide how ugly you are at all," Kurama, a boy a year older than Ema said. "Maybe you should try wearing the boy's uniform instead. It would at least hide those legs of yours." Ema flinched and tried to ignore Kurama's words. She hadn't done anything to this boy and didn't understand why he was so mean to her. She told herself that he was probably just looking for an easy target, and Ema definitely offered that.

Ema tried to ignore him as he kept talking and when Mahoko showed up looking for her, she tried to hide, but Mahoko spotted her before she could slip into an empty classroom. Ema was afraid that if Kurama saw her with Mahoko, he'd start being mean to Mahoko too.

"Ema, where have you been?" Mahoko asked. "All the good sandwiches have already been taken."

"You've got to be kidding," Kurama snorted. "You actually have a friend, Hinata? Here I thought you were just a loner loser since you come to school and leave alone every day. Then again, maybe this girl just pities you."

Ema felt concerned as she watched a fire light inside Mahoko's eyes and Mahoko moved to stand between Ema and Kurama. "Yeah she's got a friend, which seems to be more than you can say. I don't see anyone hanging around you, jerk."

"Whatever," Kurama said, rolling his eyes and walking away.

"How long has this been going on for?" Mahoko demanded, spinning to face Ema and putting her hands on her hips. "The way he was talking, it sounds like this wasn't the first time."

Ema shrugged awkwardly and started walking towards the cafeteria.

"Oh, no," Mahoko protested, grabbing Ema's arm and holding her in place. "You need to tell your brothers about this."

"No," Ema said shaking her head. "I don't want to trouble them and there's really nothing that they can do. Telling them will just make them worry."

"I think that they'd want to know, Ema," Mahoko said. "They sound like they're pretty protective of you. You are the Asahina brothers' only sister, after all."

"It's fine," Ema brushed off. "I'm sure that if I keep ignoring him, he'll get bored and stop."

Mahoko didn't look convinced and Ema had a feeling that she would be hearing about this again.

~.~

At the end of the week as Ema was heading home she heard the dreaded, "Oye, Hinata!" and her shoulders tensed. Friday was supposed to be a happy day. The end of the school week and the signaling of two days away from _him._ Why couldn't he leave her alone at least on Friday after school?

"Why do you even bother going home? I'm sure your family dreads the time when you get out of school and they have to see your ugly face," Kurama taunted.

As always, Ema tried to ignore him and keep walking, but then she heard an oddly strangled sound. She peeked over her shoulder in time to see Yusuke grasping the labels of Kurama's jacket and shoving him into the wall. "What the hell did you just say to her?"

"Wh—what?" Kurama gasped out, looking stunned.

"I said," Yusuke enunciated, jerking Kurama forward before shoving him back into the wall, where Kurama smacked his head against the brick, "what the _hell_ did you just say to her?"

Ema turned around, stunned at the sight before her. Kurama opened and closed his mouth as he tried to come up with something to say. "I—well, I—" Yusuke let go of Kurama only to punch him in the jaw. Kurama fell to the ground and looked up at Yusuke in shock, rubbing the side of his face.

Yusuke squatted down beside Kurama, his eyes cold as he said, "If I catch you near her again, if I hear you _say_ anything about her again, I will hunt you down and beat you so bad your own mother won't recognize you. Is that clear?"

Kurama nodded, not taking his eyes off of Yusuke. "Y—yeah. I won't. I swear."

Yusuke gave him one last glare before getting up and grabbing Ema's arm. "Come on, we're going home."

Ema followed along numbly as Yusuke continued to pull her all the way to the train station. On the train, Yusuke stood protectively close to Ema, glaring at anyone who got too close to her. A few minutes after they got off the train and began walking home, Ema finally gathered her wits enough to stop walking.

When Yusuke realized that Ema was no longer following him, he turned around and growled, "What?" Then he seemed to flinch at his tone and ran a hand over his face. "What is it, Ema?"

"Why?" Ema asked.

"Why?" Yusuke repeated, looking confused. "Why what?"

"Why did you save me? How did you even know about Kurama?"

Yusuke looked shocked and hurt at the first question. At the second question, Yusuke folded his arms and said, "Mahoko-chan told me, but it shouldn't have been her. _You_ should have told me you were being bullied, Ema. Of course I would do something about it! Why would you even think that I'd just stand back and let something like that happen?"

"Because you never acknowledge me at school!" Ema shot back. "This is the sixth year we've gone to the same school together, and you've never once talked to me at school, or even on the way to and from school. Why would I think that you would do something?"

Yusuke looked down at the sidewalk with a devastated expression on his face and Ema felt bad, but why should she? Everything that she'd said was true. "Why don't you ever talk to me at school, Yusuke? I just don't understand, and any explanation I can come up with leads to some variation of you either not really liking me and just pretending at home, or you being too ashamed at school to let anyone know about our relationship." Kurama's words came back to Ema and she clutched one arm self-consciously. Could there be some truth in the cruel things that he'd said to her?

"It's not what you're thinking," Yusuke assured her, shaking his head vehemently.

"Then what is it?"

"Urrgh!" Yusuke let out a frustrated yell as he covered his face with his hands. "It's not easy to explain, or I would've told you ages ago. But back then there's no way you would have understood."

"Understood what?" Ema asked, frustrated now. Why in the world had Yusuke, who always acted so friendly to Ema at home, avoided her at school for the entire time they'd been related?

"You're too nice, too innocent to understand what sorts of things people say," Yusuke said, blushing and looking at the ground. "You always have been." His gaze jerked up to Ema and he threw his hands out. "Not that that's a bad thing! I think it's wonderful. It's one of the things that I lo—like about you, but it also makes it hard sometimes. Because if people knew that we were stepsiblings, they'd talk."

"Talk about what?" Ema asked, feeling more confused than ever. What did them being stepsiblings have to do with Yusuke wanting to avoid her at school?

"Ema, I'm a guy and you're a girl and we live in the same house and we're not related by blood."

"So?" She wished that Yusuke would stop being so convoluted in his explanation and just spit it out.

Yusuke blew out a sigh and titled his head back to look at the sky. "I knew you wouldn't understand. Ema, people like to gossip and say things whether they're true or not. If people at school, especially the guys, knew that we were stepsiblings living in the same house, they'd talk like we were doing things like…you know."

"No, I don't know. What would people say?"

Yusuke stared at Ema, the frustration clear on his face as he skin burned bright red. "They'd think that we…or that I…Ah, I can't say it, Ema! They'd say bad things about you and I don't want that! I never wanted that, which is why I stayed away from you at school."

Ema's brow wrinkled as she thought over Yusuke's words. "You're saying that our classmates might say bad things about me if they knew that we were stepsiblings because some kids think that you're a delinquent?" Ema's face broke into a smile. "I know that you seem really rough to people who don't know you and that you end up in fights sometimes at school, but I know that you have a good heart, Yusuke. If other people want to say bad things about me for being close to you, then they're not the kinds of people I want to be friends with anyway."

Yusuke smacked a hand to his face and shook his head. She didn't get it. He knew she wouldn't, which was why he'd never tried to explain it to her before. "Sure, Ema. I stayed away from you at school because I didn't want people to think you were associated with a delinquent." He shook his head again. "But that doesn't matter anymore. You got bullied because of me staying away from you. If we'd just acted at school like we did at home, this never would have happened."

"It's not your fault, Yusuke," Ema assured him, stepping closer.

"It is," Yusuke said, holding a hand out to stop Ema from saying anymore. "And I take full responsibility for it, but it _won't_ happen again. From now on, I'll always go to and from school with you and, if you want…" Yusuke's voice got quieter as his face flushed even redder. "We c-c-can hang out at school. If you want."

"Of course, Yusuke!" Ema said enthusiastically, clasping Yusuke's hand and pulling him along as she resumed their walk home. "That's what I've always wanted."

Yusuke's heart skipped a beat as he stared down at their clasped hands. He was so far gone on Ema. Would he ever have the courage to tell her how he really felt about her?

~.~

Fuuto leaned against the doorjamb leading into the living room as he watched Yusuke and Ema on the couch, laughing as they played some video game. Someone watching Fuuto might claim that he was glaring, but he wasn't. Fuuto was too cool to glare. And what reason could Fuuto Asahina possibly have to glare at anyone? His life was perfect. At only thirteen years old, he was already an idol loved by girls all over Japan. He got great grades in school. He was exceptionally good looking, and getting even better looking all the time.

Except…something had changed between Yusuke and Ema sometime in the last few weeks. Fuuto had no idea what it was, but the two of them had suddenly started spending more time together at home and Ema just seemed more cheerful towards Yusuke than Fuuto had ever seen her be.

It bothered him. Not that he was jealous, of course. Jealousy was for losers, but he wanted to know _why_ things had changed between Yusuke and Ema _._ When he'd asked Ema about it, she'd just smiled and shrugged, saying that they'd cleared up a misunderstanding. That must have been some misunderstanding for the two of them to be such close friends now.

Despite Fuuto _not_ being jealous…he really was going to have to think of some way to get in between the two of them.


	11. Jealousy

**Chapter 11: Jealousy**

"All right, class," the teacher said, clapping her hands together, "this assignment is going to count for ten percent of your grade this semester, so I suggest that you _pay attention_ to what I'm saying."

Ema straightened up and focused on the teacher. Her first semester in high school was almost over and her grades were already good. If she did well on this assignment, she was sure to get an A.

"You're going to be assigned a partner and you and your partner are going to research the culture of an ancient civilization. You'll need to prepare a five page paper and a poster on the topic, and then you and your partner will present. The partnerships are as follows, Asahina Yusuke with Imai Mahoko."

Yusuke slumped in his chair, disappointed. He'd hoped to be paired with Ema. It would be so much more convenient for them to work together, and then he'd get to spend more time with her.

The teacher continued down the list until she said, "Hinata Ema and Kazuma Sasakura." The only thing Yusuke knew about Sasakura was that he was a star on the soccer team and that he seemed like a nice guy. Yusuke looked over at Sasakura and saw him glancing at Ema, a blush on his face. Yusuke sat bolt upright in his chair, glaring at Sasakura. What the hell? Why was he blushing? Did he like Ema? Yusuke clenched his fists as he glared at the guy, already imaging him trying to get close with Ema as they worked on the project.

He could see exactly how it would play out in his mind's eye. They'd be sitting in a dark corner of the library and Sasakura would act like he needed help. _"Ema-chan, I don't get this part right here. Could you please explain it to me?"_ Ema would lean over to point something out in the text book in front of Sasakura, and then he would slide his arm around Ema's shoulders, and she was so quiet and nice that she probably wouldn't say anything about it.

"I won't accept it!" Yusuke shouted, slamming his hands on his desk.

The teacher paused before placing her hands on her hips. "Well fine then, Asahina-kun. If you're so against learning about Rome, you and Imai-chan can study ancient Egypt instead." Yusuke flushed and sunk down in his chair, feeling his face flame as brightly as his hair.

The teacher continued to explain the assignment and Yusuke sunk deeper into his depression, his mind coming up with ever worse scenarios of what might happen between Ema and Sasakura.

~.~

"So, Ema-chan," Sasakura began when he came up to Ema at the end of school, "do you want to get started on the assignment now? We could go to the library and see what books they have on ancient Assyria."

"Sure," Ema agreed, smiling up at Sasakura. "I'd love to get started right away."

"Great!" Sasakura exclaimed, his face lighting up. "Oh! Would you like me to carry your bag?" He asked as Ema hefted her bag up, heavy with books from all her classes.

"I've got it, but thanks for the offer!" Ema smiled at Sasakura again. They didn't talk very often, but he always seemed really nice. Ema was happy that she was partnered with someone who seemed eager to work on the project. In junior high whenever the teacher assigned project partners, it always seemed like Ema got stuck with a partner that made her do all the work.

"Yusuke-kun!" Ema called. Yusuke looked over, his bag already slung over his shoulder. "Will you tell Ukyo-kun that I'm going to be late getting home today? Sasakura-kun and I are staying late to work on our project."

Ema wondered why Yusuke looked so unhappy as he nodded his head and sent a warning look at Sasakura. "Yeah, I'll tell him. Text me if you're not going to be home for dinner, okay? I can come pick you up if you want me to walk home with you."

"Thanks, Yusuke-kun!" Ema said, waving as he left.

"You and Yusuke-kun live together?" Sasakura asked.

"Yes. He's my stepbrother."

"Oh! I guess that's why you two are so close." Ema wondered why that seemed to make Sasakura even more cheerful as they left the classroom.

They chatted about school and soccer as they walked to the library. When they got there, they paused as they read the sign posted on the library doors. CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION. DO NOT ENTER.

"Um, I guess that we can go somewhere else to work on the project," Ema suggested, not sure where they should go.

"Geez, I guess we'll have to," Sasakura said, looking unhappy as he stared at the sign. "I wish that the teacher had told us the library was closed right now."

"We can go to the public library," Ema suggested. "I'm sure we'll find some good books there."

One train ride and twenty minutes later, the two teens stood outside the public library, looking at the sign in disbelief that declared the library closed for renovations.

"What is up with this?" Sasakura asked. "Are all libraries worked on at the same time? Maybe we should just look up information online for our project. We'd probably find more sources that way anyways."

"Okay," Ema agreed. "Where would you like to go to get started?"

"Well," Sasakura scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "My house is being fumigated for termites right now, so that's out. Maybe we could go to your place?"

"Okay," Ema said slowly. "It can get pretty noisy at my house sometimes, though I can ask my brothers to try and be quiet. Would that bother you?"

"Not at all," Sasakura assured Ema cheerfully. "I've got two little brothers who make a ton of noise. I can do homework through almost anything."

"Oh…that's great," Ema said hesitantly, thinking that two little boys couldn't possibly make as much as noise as all her brothers. Hopefully, most of them wouldn't be home right now.

~.~

Yusuke looked up from the TV in surprise when Ema walked in. "You're already done?" He asked before he noticed Sasakura behind Ema. What the heck was he doing here?

"No. The school library and the public library were both closed, so we decided to come here to work. Do you mind if we work at the table?"

"No, that's fine," Yusuke answered, relieved. First he was relieved that Ema hadn't brought Sasakura home just to hang out with him. Second, he was relieved because now he could watch them as they worked together and make sure that Sasakura didn't do anything weird to Ema.

A half hour later, Yusuke found his head being repeatedly poked from behind. "What?!" Yusuke demanded whirling to find Tsubaki and Azusa standing behind the couch.

"Who is that _boy_ sitting next to Ema?" Tsubaki demanded.

"Kazuma Sasakura. He's in our class and he and Ema are partnered together for a project. That's why he's here."

"Does he need to sit next to her?" Tsubaki asked, crossing his arms and glaring as Sasakura said something that made Ema laugh.

"People normally sit next to each other when they're working together on a project, Tsubaki," Azusa said, laying a hand on Tsubaki's shoulder. "Ema's just being a good student, like usual. You do notice the laptop sitting between them on the table, right?"

"It still pisses me off," Tsubaki grumbled, continuing to glare.

~.~

When Masaomi and Ukyo arrived home, they both paused when they stepped into the living room. Masaomi looked in confusion between Ema and the boy sitting next to her. Ukyo looked over at the couch to see a pissed-off looking Tsubaki and Yusuke. Azusa had a long-suffering look on his face.

"Ema?" Ukyo asked lightly. "Who's your friend?" If the answer was anything other than a partner for a school project, the boy was in for a world of trouble. Bringing boys home at Ema's age was _not_ okay. Admittedly, most of Ukyo's brothers had already had a girlfriend by the time they were fifteen, but this was different. Ema was their only sister, after all. They had to take more care with her and protect her.

"Oh, hi, Kyo-nii! Hi, Mao-nii. Welcome home. This is Sasakura-kun. He's in mine and Yusuke's class. We're working together on a project about the culture of ancient Assyria. The school library and the public library were both closed, so we came here to work. We're hoping to get most of our research done tonight. "

Masaomi relaxed at Ema's explanation and smiled at Sasakura. "Well then, I hope it hasn't been too noisy for you two to get some good work done."

"No, not at all, Sir," Sasakura assured Masaomi.

"Will Sasakura-kun be staying for dinner then?" Ukyo asked.

"If that's okay with you, Kyo-nii," Ema replied.

"That's fine. I'll just set out one more plate."

As dinner grew closer, the living room couch filled with more upset males.

"What do you know about this guy, Yusuke?" Subaru asked, trying to be unobtrusive as he threw unhappy glances at the young man.

Yusuke shrugged, tired of being asked the same questions over and over. "He's on the soccer team and he's supposed to be really good. I don't know anything else about him." He lowered his voice so that just Subaru could hear him. "I think that he likes Ema, though."

Subaru's hands fisted involuntary as his eyes shot to Ema and her classmate, as though he might be able to tell whether or not the guy liked Ema just by watching them. He _really_ didn't like the idea of some guy he didn't know getting close to Ema. Not that he had any official right to get upset by it, of course. But still…Why did Ema have to go to a different high school from him? This wouldn't be happening if they were in the same school, and then he could have gotten closer to her.

"Iori," Tsubaki hissed, "go over there and ask if they need any help."

"Ukyo already said that we have to leave them alone," Iori responded, trying to keep his tone even. "I would think you'd understand that since Ukyo has already hit you _three_ times with the frying pan for interrupting them to ask Ema some inane question."

"Yeah, well, you could legitimately interrupt them," Tsubaki argued. "You're taking world history this year, right?"

"Yes, Tsubaki," Iori sighed, "but that doesn't make me an expert on the culture of ancient Assyria. Just let Ema and Sasakura-kun work. The sooner they get done what they need to, the sooner he'll leave."

~.~

Ukyo kept on eye on Ema and her partner as he prepared dinner, trying not to feel irritated. He understood the need for her to prioritize homework, of course. That's what he wanted her to do. But still, he enjoyed the time he spent with Ema every night preparing meals together. It helped him to unwind from a hard day at work to talk with Ema. Sometimes they talked about their days, about other meals for the week, or about their brothers. Regardless of the topic, Ukyo always enjoyed that time.

And it didn't help his irritation that the Sasakura boy seemed overly interested in Ema and everything she said. If Sasakura were just Ema's project partner, Ukyo would be fine, but he didn't think that was where the young man's feelings for Ema ended.

Heaven help the boy who eventually decided he wanted to date Ema. Ukyo couldn't speak for the rest of his brothers, but he knew that personally, he'd be putting any boy that tried to date Ema through a strict cross-examination.

~.~

"Why are you so irritated, Tsubaki?" Azusa asked with a sigh, trying and failing to get his twin to stop glaring at their sister's project partner.

"I don't know," Tsubaki said. "That boy is just acting really familiar with her, that's all. It pisses me off." Truth be told, Tsubaki was surprised himself at how irritated he was at seeing Ema with a classmate. Tsubaki wondered if maybe it was because he wasn't used to the sight of seeing Ema with an unfamiliar boy (young man at this point, his little sister was already in high school now and no longer a girl). Tsubaki was fairly certain that he'd never seen Ema with any guy outside of the Asahina brothers. She valued family above everything and spent most of her nights and weekends either hanging out with the family, or playing video games. He didn't like this change at all, but reminded himself that Ema was just doing schoolwork, like Azusa kept telling him.

~.~

"That's not our Imouto-chan's boyfriend, is it?" Kaname asked when he arrived home.

"No," Yusuke groaned. "He's just a classmate that she was assigned to work on a project with. Why does everyone have to ask that? Do I need to put up a sign?"

"What was I supposed to think when I saw you guys over here glaring daggers at the poor boy?" Kaname defended. "You're all admitting such a killing aura that I thought for sure that young man had gone and stolen our little sister. You should all calm down."

"Yes," Azusa agreed. "Honestly, what are you all going to do when she brings home a real boyfriend?" While Azusa wasn't bothered by Sasakura's presence, mentioning Ema with a boyfriend made an unfamiliar tight feeling coil in the center of his chest. He didn't like imagining her kissing and being held by some faceless figure. Maybe he was more protective of Ema than he thought.

"Now _that_ will be a sad day," Kaname said. "Of course, any young man who wishes to date our dear little sister will have to get our approval first."

"I'll never give it," Tsubaki immediately declared, crossing his arms. "I won't hand over my little sister to anyone."

~.~

The Asahina brothers breathed a collective sigh of relief after dinner when Ema walked Sasakura outside. Thankfully, they had gotten most of their research done. Most of the brothers hoped that they wouldn't be seeing Sasakura again.

~.~

"Sorry about tonight," Ema said as she and Sasakura reached the front porch. "Usually only a couple of my brothers hang out in the living room. I didn't expect so many of them to be there tonight."

"That's okay," Sasakura brushed off. "We got done most of what we wanted to, that's what matters. I'm sure your brothers were just concerned about seeing you with a guy they don't know. I think it's sweet that they're so concerned about you. Though I hope that the library will be open the next time we get together to work on our project."

Sasakura waved goodbye to Ema and began his way home. Though he had enjoyed working with Ema, part of him felt relieved to be leaving. The atmosphere inside that house had been way too heavy. He glanced back at Sunrise Mansion with a discouraged sigh. He'd had no idea that Ema had so many siblings. Correction, so many _brothers._ He'd have to be something really special for all those guys to let him date their little sister.


	12. Overcoming

**A/N:** Masaomi and Ukyo finally get their spotlight!

 **Chapter 12: Overcoming**

"Onee-chan, Kyo-nii," Wataru called as he wandered into the kitchen. "Can I help with dinner tonight? I'm supposed to help around the house for a school assignment."

"Sure, Wataru, though I think Ukyo and I are almost done," Ema said, looking at the soup. "Maybe you could set the table instead?" She paused to look up at the cabinets hanging above the counter. "Then again, maybe that's too high for you."

"I can do it!" Wataru assured Ema. "I just need to get a chair, that's all." A moment later, Wataru returned, dragging a chair behind him.

"Be careful," Ema warned, watching Wataru climb onto the chair and open the cabinet.

"It's fine," Wataru said, stretching on his toes to reach the plates. "We have nine people home for dinner tonight so I need one, two, three, four, five, six," Wataru started to wobble as he continued to pile plates onto one arm.

"Not so many at a time—" Ema started to warn when Wataru slipped, falling off the side of the chair. He fell to the floor and a loud crash sounded as the plates broke.

Ukyo sighed and shook his head as Ema gasped running forward. "Wataru, are you okay?" When she reached him, she saw the blood. One of the broken plates had cut his arm open. She couldn't tell how badly. "Masaomi!" Ema yelled. "Wataru is bleeding!"

Masaomi, who was sitting on the couch with Kaname, reacted to the panic in Ema's voice and jumped to his feet.

"I'm okay," Wataru said meekly. "It doesn't hurt that bad."

"Let me see it," Ukyo said, moving the chair and the broken plates out of the way. He grabbed Wataru's arm and pulled it straight, making Wataru wince.

Ema gasped again. "It looks really deep," she murmured.

The next moment she heard a thump, and she looked up to see that Masaomi had fallen against the counter, his face pale as he stared at Wataru's arm.

"Masaomi!" Ukyo snapped. "This is no time for your fear of blood to get in the way. Our little brother needs you."

Ema stared at Masaomi in surprise, having never heard of this fear before. How was Masaomi a doctor while being afraid of blood? Masaomi still didn't move, looking like he was in shock. Kaname appeared then, pushing past Masaomi with a first aid kit in his hands. "Help me wrap up his arm, Ukyo. Ema, you call an ambulance." Ema nodded and ran for the phone.

~.~

Ukyo, Masaomi, and Ema went to the hospital with Wataru. He had to get stiches, but was fine other than that.

"I'm so pathetic," Masaomi muttered, rubbing his hands over his face.

"What?" Ema asked, not hearing him properly.

"Nothing," Masaomi said, shaking his head and looking depressed.

"Come on, Wataru," Ukyo said, appearing in the doorway. "The doctor said that you can go home now."

"Yay!" Wataru cheered, jumping to his feet.

"Be careful," Ema admonished in a worried tone.

Wataru smiled. "I'm fine, Onee-chan. It was my arm that got hurt, not my legs or feet. Besides, I'm tough. It doesn't hurt that bad." From the look on Wataru's face, Ema was pretty sure that he was lying, but he still kept the smile on his face as he looked at his older siblings. "Come on, Mao-nii," Wataru said, grabbing Masaomi's hand. "Let's go."

"Okay, Wataru," Masaomi agreed, smiling sadly at his brother.

~.~

The next day, Ema noticed a letter on the table addressed to Masaomi. It had the insignia of the hospital he worked at and was marked 'urgent'. It had probably been on the table since yesterday, but it had lain forgotten because of everything that happened with Wataru.

Worried, Ema called Masaomi to see if it was something he needed. Or, tried to call him. Ema heard Masaomi's cell phone ringing from the couch and sighed. She'd need to bring the letter to him, just in case it was something important.

At the hospital, Ema found a nurse and asked for Dr. Asahina, explaining that she was his little sister. "Oh!" The nurse exclaimed. "Yes, he talks about you all the time. He's in exam room 103 right now with a patient."

"Okay, thank you," Ema said before wandering towards the room. When she reached it, she waited outside, not wanting to interrupt Masaomi while he was with a patient.

Inside the room, she saw a young boy sitting on the exam table looking worried. Masaomi gently pulled on the boy's ears as he peered into them.

"What's it look like?" The boy asked. "Is it still swollen?"

"Not as badly as last time," Masaomi answered, smiling at the boy. "I can tell that you've been taking your medicine regularly. Now, open your mouth and let me have a look at your throat." The boy complied and afterwards, Masaomi gave him a sucker. "I'd say that you're progressing nicely, Ittai-kun," Masaomi said, patting the boy on the head. "This new medicine we have you on seems to be working. I think that you'll be just fine to play on the soccer team by the time the season starts."

"Yes!" Itikki-kun exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "Did you hear that, Mom?"

"I did, Honey," the woman said, smiling as she lifted her son off the table. She turned to Masaomi and said, "Thank you so much, Dr. Asahina. He was so depressed when he thought he wouldn't be able to play on the soccer team this year."

"It's no problem," Masaomi assured her. "I'm glad I was able to help." He waved as the son and his mother left.

"I bet most of your patients love you just like that little boy," Ema said. Masaomi turned in surprise to see Ema. "Hi," she greeted. "This was on the table for you from yesterday. I didn't know if you needed it or not and you didn't have your cell phone, so I decided to bring this to you. I hope that's okay."

"Yes, of course," Masaomi said, still looking surprised to see Ema. "I appreciate it. I'm sorry you had to take the trouble to come down here."

"That's okay!" Ema assured Masaomi. "I've never seen you work before. I wish that I'd had a pediatrician as nice as you when I was a kid. I wouldn't have minded going to the doctor so much then."

Masaomi smiled sadly. "I'd be a more effective doctor if I didn't have an aversion to blood. I couldn't even help my own little brother when he needed it."

"I hadn't known that you had a problem with blood," Ema said cautiously, still surprised by it.

Masaomi sighed. "I used to be fine, but after doing practice surgeries in medical school, the sight of blood started making me sick. I chose to become a pediatrician in part because I love kids, but also because it generally requires fewer surgeries. I can usually get through what I have to with patients bleeding when I'm prepared for the sight, but I'm also woozy during and collapse afterwards. I wasn't okay at home because it happened out of the blue." He sighed again. "I'm afraid I'm going to make a mistake one of these days because of my fear and hurt one of my patients."

"Is there anything you could do to get used to the sight of blood?" Ema asked, wanting to be helpful. Having never had to overcome any fears herself, she couldn't think of any advice to offer.

"Well…I have been thinking about staying after my shift to watch surgeries and hopefully get used to the sight that way, but when the end of my shift comes, I'm always too nervous to try."

"What if I stayed and watched with you the first time?" Ema asked, excited at the prospect of being able to help. "Would it be easier that way?"

Masaomi looked surprised, but then shook his head. "I can't ask my little sister to stay with me to watch surgeries."

"I think that it would be interesting to watch a surgery in person," Ema argued, staring at Masaomi earnestly. "And I've watched some on TV on reality medical shows, so I think that I'd be okay with watching one in person."

Masaomi still looked reluctant and Ema said, "Please? I think that it would be a good experience. People should try to have lots of different kinds of experiences in their life so that they can learn more."

Finally, Masaomi nodded. "All right, but if it bothers you at all, let me know and we'll leave immediately." Ema gave a firm nod and Masaomi smiled in return. Inside, he felt relieved and grateful for Ema's support. With her by his side, the prospect of watching something as bloody as surgery seemed a little more manageable. One because he wouldn't want to look weak in front of her, and two because her support always seemed to make him a little stronger and more capable.

~.~

After watching the surgery, Ema supported Masaomi as they walked out to the car. On the one hand, Masaomi was pleased that he'd been able to make it through the whole surgery. On the other hand, he felt pathetic that Ema had to help him out to the car afterwards. "I'll keep trying until I get better," he promised.

Ema turned to smile encouragingly at him. "I think it's amazing that you're preserving through your weakness to improve yourself and to be a better doctor. A lot of people would just give up or make up excuses to cover their weakness."

Masaomi blushed at Ema's words. "You shouldn't praise me so much, or I'll get a big head," he said.

Ema laughed. "I'm sure that our brothers already had dinner, but if you're willing to wait a little bit, I'll make you something when we get home."

"Definitely," Masaomi replied. "Your food always gives me the energy to work hard the next day."

~.~

"Do you know why Kyo-nii has been in such a bad mood this week?" Tsubaki asked Ema as he watched her prepare dinner.

"He hasn't said anything to me," Ema said, shaking her head. "I'm assuming it's something to do with work, but he won't talk about it."

Tsubaki rolled his eyes. "No, instead he just stomps around muttering under his breath and yelling at anyway who gets in his way. Because that's obviously the mature way to deal with his problem."

"You guys have got to come look at this," Azusa said, staring at the TV. Kaname and Azusa watched with their attention riveted to the news. Ema and Tsubaki shared a look of surprise before going to stand behind the couch.

The news anchor on the TV stood outside of a courthouse. "The case of farmer Abe Yasuo versus former House of Councilors member Yukio Aso is heating up. Today in court, lawyers Asahina Ukyo and Amamiya Reiko—" Whatever the news anchor said next was drowned out by Ema's and Tsubaki's gasps.

"Ukyo's facing off with the wicked witch in court?" Tsubaki asked. "No wonder he's been so pissy lately. Who's Ukyo representing? The farmer or the former member of the House of Councilors?"

"The farmer," Azusa answered. "And it sounds like Ukyo has lost his cool in the courtroom more than once."

"Poor Ukyo," Ema said, wondering how he must feel. When Ukyo walked in the door a moment later, Kaname quickly changed the channel and Ema went back to the kitchen. "Welcome home, Ukyo. How was work today?"

"Fine," Ukyo ground out, glaring at the counter and his voice suggesting that his day had been anything but fine.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, not wanting to admit what she'd just seen on the news. Despite the fact that it had been on display for anyone to see, Ukyo might feel like it was an invasion of his privacy for his siblings to see and know what was going on at his work without Ukyo telling them himself.

Ukyo's glare turned to Ema before he switched it to the vegetables and Ema resisted the urge to step back. She was surprised that despite Ukyo and Reiko breaking up three years ago, he was still so upset about this. He'd always been in the worst moods while dating Reiko. It had always seemed to Ema that Reiko was a fickle woman who enjoyed toying with Ukyo. Wasn't being in a relationship supposed to make someone happy?

Ukyo and Ema worked in awkward silence as Ema tried to think of how she could encourage Ukyo. Eventually she said quietly, "You're one of the hardest working people I know, Ukyo. Even while being a lawyer, and even while you were going to law school, you still somehow find the time to run the Asahina household. You keep up with the cooking, the cleaning, and with making sure that everyone in school is doing well. They say that success in anything is ten percent talent, and ninety percent perseverance. I think that you can accomplish almost anything you set your mind to if you put all your focus towards it, Ukyo. I hope that you feel like you can walk into any courtroom with confidence. And even if you don't win, feel like you learned something that will help you do better next time." Her voice got even quieter. "Please let me know if there's anything I can do to be helpful."

Beside her, Ukyo relaxed a little and let out a sigh. "Do you remember Reiko?" He asked.

Like Ema could possibly forget her. "Yes, I do."

"She's the lawyer I'm up against in my current case."

"Is she really good?" Ema asked.

Ukyo's mouth twisted sardonically. "I don't know if I'd say she's a good lawyer so much as she's good at picking cases that she knows she can win."

"Then she won't grow!" Ema stated firmly. "Our failures teach us as much as our successes. Sometimes even more."

Ukyo smiled. "That's true, though it's a lesson that someone like Reiko isn't willing to learn."

"I think she's overconfident if she thinks that she can beat you," Ema said before remembering that the clients were a farmer and a former member of parliament. The government man would have a lot more clout.

Ukyo sighed. "She doesn't think she'll win this case because she thinks she's a better lawyer than me, she thinks she'll win this case because I'll be too unnerved to do a good job. And so far, she's been right."

Ukyo fell silent before he confessed, "When Reiko and I were dating, I heard rumors that she was also dating other guys. When I confronted her about it, she admitted to it. She told me that she only dated me because my mother was Asahina Miwa and she hoped that it would help her get ahead in life to be connected with the Asahina family." His voice turned bitter. "But she decided that the payoff was taking too long and she was tired of dating a boring guy like me."

Ema gasped. "That's terrible! Reiko is a terrible person, Ukyo. You know that all our brothers hated her. She wasn't nice to anyone." Reiko had been Ukyo's last girlfriend and he hadn't shown any interest in dating since then. Had Reiko shaken his confidence in himself so badly that he'd been afraid to? "Don't ever define yourself by the thoughts of such a lowly person," Ema instructed Ukyo, grabbing his shoulders to make him face her. "You're much better than that."

Ukyo blinked down at Ema in surprise before he smiled gratefully and pulled her into a hug. "Okay, Ema. I'll try not to."

~.~

The last day of the trial, Ema waited outside the courthouse, worried about Ukyo. According to the news (and based on Ukyo's attitude at home), things had been going better for Ukyo's side of the lawsuit after Ema talked with him. She wanted Ukyo to win, of course, but even if he didn't, she hoped that he'd be able to feel proud of the work he'd done. Whatever the outcome, she wanted to be here to support him; whether it was to celebrate with him or to console him.

When the doors finally opened, Ema saw Ukyo walking out with the farmer she'd seen on TV. They were shaking hands, but Ema was too far away to see either of their expressions. "Ukyo," Ema called after the farmer walked away. Ukyo looked surprised when he spotted Ema, but immediately came over.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I wanted to see how things turned out," Ema said earnestly. "I hope it's not a bother that I'm here."

"Not at all," Ukyo said, a radiant smile on his face as he pulled Ema into a fierce hug. "I won. It's all because of your support."

"That's not it," Ema argued, returning the hug. "You won because of all your hard work and discipline. You were the better lawyer."

Ukyo pulled back to say something to Ema when a voice called out, "Ukyo-kun!" Ukyo pulled away from Ema to face the speaker and Ema was surprised to see Reiko coming their way. "I'm impressed at how well you did today. You've come a long way since the last time I saw you."

Reiko placed a hand on Ukyo's chest and finally seemed to notice Ema. Her lip curled as she looked Ema up and down. "Who is this? Some little fan of yours?"

Ema flushed and Ukyo gripped Reiko's hand, pulling it off him. "She's someone very important to me. Please refrain from insulting her."

Reiko laughed, still looking at Ema. "Do you think a little girl like you could satisfy someone like Ukyo?" She turned to Ukyo and purred. "Leave the girl behind and come with me tonight, Ukyo. I'll show you what it's like to be with a real woman. You do remember, don't you?"

"I'll have to decline, actually," Ukyo said, stepping back from Reiko. "I'd rather not associate myself with such a lowly woman. I prefer women of true character." He turned and held out a hand to Ema. "Let's go, Ema."

Reiko gaped, shocked at being denied by Ukyo before the name he'd called the girl registered. "Ema?" She hissed. "Your step-sister? You're choosing that brat over me?"

"Careful, Reiko," Ukyo warned, his arm around Ema as they walked away. "The media is still around. You wouldn't want them to catch your ugly side on camera or it might ruin your reputation."

~.~

When they reached home Ema said, "Why don't I make dinner by myself tonight? You should take the night off after your big win."

Ukyo shook his head. What he really wanted to suggest was that the two of them go out to dinner to celebrate, instead he said, "I appreciate the offer, but I've told you before that cooking is how I unwind from work. Plus, cooking became a lot more fun after you joined the family." Ema beamed at him and he couldn't help but return the smile. "I enjoy the time I get spend with you while we cook. It's time that I wouldn't give up for anything." Most of all, it was time that he got to have Ema to himself without any of their brothers around.

Ukyo's chest tightened as he watched Ema put on her apron and bustle around the kitchen. He had to admit it fully now. He didn't want to think of Ema as his little sister. He'd been trying so hard to, but he wanted her in his arms and at his side supporting him as his girlfriend. Ema was the perfect woman. She made him a better man and he always wanted her with him. He didn't want to hand her to anyone else.

 **A/N:** I'm so sorry this is late! I'm out of town this week and I meant to put a note in chapter 11 that I might not be able to post this week, and then I totally forgot. I tried to post this chapter yesterday morning, but refuses to upload anything from Word on my lame new laptop and I haven't had time to figure out what's wrong. I just barely noticed the copy and paste function on , which is why this chapter has finally been posted.


	13. Sick

**Chapter 13: Sick**

Career day. It was a day that Ema had been dreading. Admittedly, she was only in the first semester of her junior year in high school and a career was still far away. Still, college would be coming up soon enough and Ema still didn't know what she wanted to go into. Somehow, she felt an inordinate amount of pressure to find the career she wanted to go into now, and it couldn't be something mundane.

She wandered from booth to booth, nothing really catching her attention. Why in the world was there a booth for being a secretary? Were there that many people aiming for a career like that? Ema had the sinking feeling that she'd make a great secretary, but she was _not_ going to that booth. Every one of her brothers who'd already graduated from school had their dream job, and Subaru and Fuuto were making amazing progress towards theirs. Being a secretary was not a job one dreamed about one's whole life.

Why couldn't Ema have had a dream career from the time she was a kid like Tsubaki and Subaru? Did it mean she wasn't as motivated?

"Hey, what's up?" A voice behind Ema asked. She spun around to see Yusuke, startled at the interruption to her melancholy thoughts.

"Yusuke, you surprised me," Ema said, putting a hand to her heart.

"Are you okay?" Yusuke asked in concern, peering into Ema's face. "You look upset."

Ema sighed. "I guess that career day just isn't my favorite day. I feel like there's so much pressure to find the one job that you want, or the one thing that you're really good at and want to pursue for the rest of your life."

"Whoa, I don't think that it's meant to be like that at all," Yusuke said, looking stressed out suddenly as he looked at the booths around them. "It's about exploring our options. The hope is that maybe we'll find something that we like, or at least something that we're interested in looking into."

"I know, but don't you ever feel pressured, Yusuke?"

"Pressured?" Yusuke asked, a confused look on his face. "About finding my one career while I'm in high school?"

"I mean because of our brothers and our parents. They're all so amazing. Don't you feel like we have to live up to that?" Ema well remembered the day that Fuuto announced his new role as a pop star and the lackluster response he got from most of the family.

Yusuke sighed and hung his head. "Are you kidding? I'll never live up to our brothers. I've known that for a long time. I can barely manage to get passing grades, but I'm surprised that _you_ think like that too. You're definitely not average like me, Ema. You're grades are better and you're amazing at supporting others. I think that our brothers have partially come as far as they have thanks to you and your supporting them, Ema."

Ema blushed and shook her head. "There's no way. I'm sure they'd be exactly where they are right now even without me around."

"Maybe, but it would have been harder for them to get there and I think they would have struggled a lot more. You're amazing at motivating others and always knowing just the right thing to say. And you always help out, like when you took over the cooking while Ukyo took his exams to become a lawyer."

"Thanks, Yusuke," Ema said, feeling a little better. "I appreciate the support that you always give me. I'm grateful that we're in the same grade. It's fun being in the same class as you, going to school together, and doing homework together."

Now it was Yusuke's turn to blush as he looked at the ground and scratched the back of his head. "Well, I'm glad that I'm not a bother to you. I…I want to be there for you, Ema." Though the statement was true, it wasn't quite what he wanted to say to her. However, he hadn't seen Ema express any interest in dating yet, and he didn't want to pressure her. For now, he was content to just stay by her side and wait patiently. He'd resolved that if an opportunity didn't present itself for him to confess his feelings in the next two years, he'd tell Ema how he felt about her at graduation.

"It'd be impossible for you to be a bother!" Ema assured Yusuke. "Besides, we're both aiming for Meiji University, so let's work hard to make it there and we'll figure out what we want to do with our lives together along the way, okay?"

"Sounds good," Yusuke agreed, his heart thumping at the thought of going to the same college as Ema and them figuring out their lives together. He'd need to work _really_ hard to make it to that point.

~.~

Ema rubbed tiredly at her face as she helped Ukyo make breakfast the next morning.

"Ema, are you okay?" Ukyo asked.

"I'm fine," Ema lied, smiling brightly. In reality, all of Ema's worry and stress over career day had made her exhausted, which led to her getting sick. She was hoping to hide it from her brothers though. All she had to do was make it through today and tomorrow, and then it would be the weekend and she could rest.

"Mmmhmm," Ukyo responded, not looking convinced, but he turned his attention back to the eggs. When Ema resumed cutting up the fruit, Ukyo came up behind her and put a hand to her forehead, pulling her back against him. Ema squeaked in surprise as Ukyo said, "You're burning up, Ema. I'll finish making breakfast. You go to your room and I'll send Masaomi to check you over."

"I can go to school," Ema argued. "It's not that bad."

"Ema," Ukyo said sternly, "when you're sick you need to rest. Otherwise, you won't get better. Now go to your room. I'll tell Yusuke not to wait for you."

"Yes, Kyo-nii," Ema said dejectedly, leaving the kitchen.

~.~

"It looks like you have a fever of one hundred degrees," Masaomi said a few minutes later, pulling the thermometer out of Ema's ear. "You won't be making it to school today."

"Sorry to cause you trouble on your day off, Masaomi," Ema apologized, feeling miserable. Her getting sick led to everyone being inconvenienced. Masaomi because he had to work on his day off, Ukyo because she wouldn't be able to help him cook dinner, Yusuke because he'd have to pick up Ema's homework for her, and everyone else because they'd worry about her.

"Don't be silly," Masaomi brushed off. "This is why I became a doctor. When I was growing up, mom kept having kids and during certain seasons, multiple brothers would be sick at a time, making things really difficult. I became a doctor for the sake of this family so that I could help everyone out more, both with a good career and with being able to take care of my family. And _you_ should be apologizing least of all. You've made my job of taking care of everyone much easier because you always help out."

"That's amazing, Masaomi," Ema said, having had no idea where Masaomi's desire to become a doctor had come from. "You're amazing." Then she smiled. "I'm grateful to have such a caring older brother like you. And I'm glad you feel like I've made things easier for you."

Masaomi patted Ema's head. "Get some rest now and I'll be back in a little while to check on you, okay?" Ema smiled again and nodded. Masaomi got up from Ema's bed and walked into the hall, pausing outside Ema's door.

On the one hand, Ema's words that he was amazing kept echoing inside his mind. None of his brothers had ever said anything like that to him (not that he became a doctor to get their praise, of course). On the other hand, hearing Ema call him her older brother caused a tightening in his chest.

Masaomi pushed those feelings away, wishing he could do more to help Ema feel better. Ema always made everything brighter and the house wouldn't be the same with her sick in bed. When the triplets had taken Ema on a trip to the family's beach house last year, after a few days everyone at home had seemed a less happy and energetic without Ema around. Every day he looked forward to seeing Ema's smiling face and hearing her say 'welcome home' when he arrived back at Sunrise Mansion. He hoped that she got better soon.

~.~

A soft knock came at Ema's door later in the afternoon. "Em-chan, can I come in?"

"The door's open, Louie," Ema called her voice hoarse.

Louis came in with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. "This is from Iori," he said putting the vase on Ema's desk. "He wanted to bring them himself, but he had to get to his job at the cafe."

"That's so sweet," Ema said, taking in the flowers and noting that Iori must have picked and arranged these flowers from the ones he grew in the garden. "Thanks for delivering them, Louie."

"Of course, Em-chan. I wanted to come and see you anyway to see if there was anything I could do for you. I owe you after last time, remember?"

A few months ago, Louis had been laid out in bed with the stomach flu. Masaomi had a late shift at the hospital that night, so Ema had stayed up to take care of Louis.

 _"_ _I'm grateful for your help, Ema, but you don't have to stay here all night," Louis said. "Besides, I feel bad about it. Little sisters shouldn't have to take care of their big brothers. It's supposed to be the other way around."_

 _"_ _I don't think so," Ema disagreed. "If I can help ease your pain even just a little bit, that makes me happy. I know how miserable it is to be sick and alone without someone to take care of you." Ema reached out to brush Louis' hair out of his face. "I don't want you to feel that way, Louie. Not when I'm right here and can help you."_

 _Louis smiled. "You're always thinking about us, Em-chan. Don't forget to take of yourself too, okay?"_

 _"_ _Of course I'm always thinking about you guys. We're a family. What else would I do?"_

 _Louis reached out and gently touched Ema's hair. "I promise that I'll give you a cute make-over when I get better, okay?"_

"I don't have the stomach flu," Ema countered. "Just a fever and a cold. I'm not as bad off as you were."

"Still, it's no fun to be alone when you're sick, right?" Louis asked, echoing her words. When Ema was taking care of him and said that, he knew that she was referring to when she practically lived by herself. Louis wondered how young Ema had been when she first had to take care of herself when she was sick. She mostly avoided talking about the life she lived before joining the Asahina family, and when she did mention things offhand, they were rarely positive. Such as being sick and alone. He knew that Rintarou loved and cared for Ema, but he also knew that her life must have been difficult.

"Well," Ema said shyly, "Masaomi had to take care of bills today, so I haven't had anyone to talk to mostly. Will you tell me about your day?"

"Of course, Em-chan," Louis said, pulling Ema's desk chair closer to the bed and taking a seat.

~.~

Later, one of Louis coworkers called into work sick and Louis had to go back in. A few minutes later, Kaname walked in. "Hello, Imouto-chan," he greeted cheerfully, carrying a sports drink in one hand and chocolates in another. "I come bearing gifts. The drink is from Subaru. The chocolate is from me."

"I hate being sick," Ema said with a sigh, then shook her head and rubbed her face to try and wipe away her melancholy. "Sorry, thanks for the gifts, Kana-nii. You can just set them on my night stand."

"In a hurry to get rid of me?" Kaname joked, sitting in the chair that Louis had left by her bed. "I came here to visit you. Why do you hate being sick, Imouto-chan? Yusuke gladly uses the excuse of being sick to miss school when he can get away with it. You get to stay home and have people take care of you. And you get to catch up on watching TV and gaming."

Ema avoided looking at Kaname as she traced the design on her comforter. "It inconveniences everyone. I can't help around the house, so other people have to pick up my chores. You, Masaomi, and Ukyo rearrange your schedules to take care of me, which causes problems for you guys at work. And everyone worries. It's just a mess."

Kaname stayed silent and Ema finally looked up to see him looking very serious. "You are never an inconvenience, Ema," he said. "We rearrange our schedules, do your chores, and worry about you because we love you, not because you're a burden. I know that it can be hard to rely on others, but that's what family is about. We rely on you all the time." Kaname was reminded of Ema's twelfth birthday when they were searching for Wataru and Ema told Kaname not to worry about her because she was used to taking care of herself. He didn't want her to struggle to be independent. He wanted her to be a little selfish and let her brothers spoil her sometimes.

"We're here for you, Ema. So try to rely on us a little more, okay?"

"Well…" Ema began before trailing off.

"Well what?" Kaname asked. "What is it, Ema?"

Ema bit her lip before saying, "If I have to be more open about asking for help, than you have to be that way to." Kaname sat back in surprise and Ema continued before she lost her nerve. "I saw you trying to help Iori get over Fuyaka, and even when he snapped at you, you never complained and never told our other brothers what happened, or tried to push helping Iori off on them. And when Reiko and Ukyo broke up, you were the one who took Ukyo drinking and listened to him. And when Wataru got cut last month and Masaomi couldn't stand the blood, you bandaged Wataru's arm for him. You're always stepping in to help our brothers out, though you never complain about anything bothering you, and I'm sure you must have your troubles too."

Kaname didn't know what to say. Ema continued to surprise him with her powers of observation. He felt a little unnerved about a woman understanding him so well. "I'll try harder too, then. But, you need to remember that it's different for me, Ema. I'm the third oldest while you're the third youngest. It's my job to take care of and watch over the rest of you because of that. You should worry a little less about taking care of your older brothers."

"That I won't promise you," Ema said and Kaname shook his head helplessly, knowing that nothing he said would change her mind.

"You are probably the most amazing woman I know, Imouto-chan."


	14. Admiration

**Chapter 14: Admiration**

"I'm glad you're feeling better," Natsume told Ema a few days after she recovered from her fever. They were sitting on his couch playing a war video game. "Everyone seems out of sorts when you're sick."

"Yeah," Ema said sadly. "It was my own fault."

"Your own fault?" Natsume asked in surprise. He quirked an eyebrow at her. "You got sick on purpose?"

Ema giggled. "No. It was career day at school and it really stressed me out."

"Why? You're not even in college yet. You don't need to know what career you want to go into yet. Sure, it's nice to plan ahead, but it's not necessary at this point." When Ema sighed sadly, Natsume paused the game and turned to her. "What is it, Ema?"

Ema stared down at her controller rather than looking at Natsume. "It's just a little intimidating when I think about the careers that you and all our brothers have, and then I think of me and I'm just…" Ema shrugged. "Average, I guess."

"Average?" Natsume echoed, shocked that Ema thought of herself that way. She was far from average. How many eleven-year-old girls would be brave enough to pack up their things and move into a house of thirteen strangers two days after learning that their father was remarrying and they were going to get brothers? And from that moment on, Ema had quickly inserted herself into the Asahina family with her positive and helpful attitude.

"You are the last person who should feel average," Natsume told Ema. "And maybe you shouldn't be as impressed with all of us as you think. Ukyo was so distracted after his break-up with Reiko that he sabotaged himself with work and he ended up with a smaller law firm than he might have otherwise. Masaomi, a doctor, is afraid of blood. Hikaru is a woman half the time. Louis would probably lose his head if it wasn't attached. And me…I'm the pathetic one who gave up on my dream, unlike our brothers. You, on the other hand, have changed the Asahina family for the better. You've changed _us_ for the better. You always encourage us and help us to grow stronger."

Ema's face burned bright red and she shook her head. Rather than addressing what Natusme said about her, Ema said, "I don't think that you're pathetic at all, Natsume-kun. Running may have been your first dream, but you're really passionate about the company you work for, and you make really great games. You know how much I love your work, and thousands of other people do too. It's wonderful how so many of our brothers have followed their dreams, but you shouldn't feel like you're any less than them because you left your first dream behind. People change, Natsume, and so do their dreams."

Natsume looked surprised before he smiled and shook his head. " _This_ is what I'm talking about. You always do this, Ema. You pick us up when we're feeling down and make us feel better."

"All I say is the truth," Ema argued, uncomfortable with Natsume's praise. "If it helps you to feel better, than I'm happy." Ema looked down at her controller again. "I just want to be helpful and support you all."

Impulsively, Natsume leaned over and kissed Ema' head, unable to help himself with the vulnerable look on Ema's face. "You do," he assured her.

~.~

When Ema arrived home, she was rushed by Tsubaki outside her room. "Where have you been?" Tsubaki demanded as he gripped Ema's arms, his eyes wide and excited.

"I was at Natsume's. Why, did something happen?"

"Something amazing happened!" Tsubaki exclaimed, shaking Ema a little. "Do you remember that robot anime I told you about that inspired me to become a voice actor?"

"Yes," Ema replied, thinking that probably no one in the family could possibly forget it.

"They're redoing it!" Tsubaki exclaimed.

It took Ema a moment to figure out what that meant. "They are?! And you're trying out for it?"

"Of course!" Tsubaki said, throwing his arms up in the air. "I'm so excited!" He spun around in a circle before gripping Ema in a hug. "You support me on this, don't you?"

"Absolutely!" Ema agreed, returning Tsubaki's hug. "This is great news!"

"I see that you've heard the good news," Azusa said, coming out of his room, drawn out by all the noise Tsubaki was making. "Tsubaki, let Ema go, you're going to crush her."

"I'm not crushing her," Tsubaki pouted, putting a hand on the back of Ema's head and pushing it to his chest. "I'm just sharing my enthusiasm with her."

"When are you auditioning?" Ema asked Tsubaki, pulling away from him.

"Tomorrow! You have to keep quiet about it, though. It hasn't been officially announced yet."

"Okay," Ema agreed. "Good luck, Onii-chan!"

"Thanks, Ema," Tsubaki said, pulling her into another hug. "Oooh, I'm too excited! I can't sit around home tonight. Let's go out to dinner with the three of us."

~.~

On Monday after school, Ema rushed home immediately, hoping to hear good news from Tsubaki. Yusuke was staying late for soccer practice today and Ema normally waited for him, but today she wanted to see Tsubaki as soon as possible. She hadn't received any texts from him, but she was hoping that he'd just wanted to deliver the news in person.

Outside the house, Ema ran into Azusa instead of Tsubaki. He didn't look happy.

"Did Tsuba-nii not get the part?" Ema asked Azusa, feeling heart-broken for her older brother. This was his dream role. The whole reason that he'd found his dream career.

"He will," Azusa said in determination, narrowing his eyes.

"He…will?" Ema asked in confusion. "Why do you say that?"

"Because," Azusa said, shaking his head, "he just will. Don't worry about it."

"Okay," Ema said, bewildered. "Where is Tsubaki right now?"

Azusa sighed. "I don't know. When I heard what happened, I tried to get ahold of Tsubaki, but he's not answering his phone. His car is here, so I know that he came home, but I couldn't find him anywhere in the house."

"What happened ?" Ema asked. "If someone else got the part, then how can Tsubaki get it?"

Azusa was silent, then he finally said, "The director made a mistake."

Ema sighed in exasperation, tired of being kept in the dark. "Why are you being so cryptic, Azu-nii? Will you just tell me what happened?"

Azusa put a hand to his forehead, looking miserable. "The director called me and told me I got the part of the main character."

"Did you even audition?" Ema asked in surprise, sure that the answer was no.

"I auditioned for the _rival_ of the main character," Azusa said. "I don't know what the director is thinking, trying to give the part of the main character to me. I won't accept it." Azusa stared off to the side, a bitter look on his face.

"Just because you don't accept the role doesn't mean that it will go to Tsubaki," Ema said cautiously, trying to catch Azusa's eye. "That decision is up to the director, not you."

Azusa's eyes flashed angrily. "You don't know what you're talking about it. This role belongs to Tsubaki."

Ema flinched at Azusa's tone, but continued on. "The director is in charge of putting together whatever cast he feels will create the best anime possible. He feels that your voice will best suit the main character. Tsubaki has an amazing voice and so do you, but you both have different strengths. It's the director's job to know how best to utilize those strengths." Ema's voice got quieter. "Tsubaki might be really sad right now, but I think that you'd do a great job voicing the main character. And how do you think Tsubaki would feel if he _did_ get to voice the main character only because you refused to do it?"

Azusa opened his mouth to respond when they heard, "Imouto-chan is right, Azusa." Tsubaki came around a corner and gave Azusa a sad smile. "That part doesn't belong to me and the director made the choice that he felt was best." Tsubaki shrugged. "It wasn't me. You'll do a great job, Azusa, I know that you will. I was walking around trying to figure out how to tell you that everything was okay because I knew you'd react like this. Besides, he cast me as your rival, so I'll still be involved in the project, and projects are always more fun when we get to work together."

Azusa looked shocked and uncertain. "Are you really okay, Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki shrugged again. "Sure, I'm bummed, but life moves on, right? I've got a lot going for me and no reason to be disappointed. Besides," Tsubaki walked over to bump Azusa's shoulder with his own, "if I can't voice the main character, there's no one I'd rather it be than you."

Azusa threw his arms around Tsubaki and buried his face in Tsubaki's shoulder. "It's okay," Tsubaki said with a small laugh, patting Azusa's shoulders. "I'm okay." He waited a moment before pushing Azusa back. "Now, go call our agent and tell her that you're accepting the role, okay?"

"All right," Azusa agreed with a nod, pulling out his phone and walking into the house.

Tsubaki turned to Ema, the sad smile back on his face as he held a hand out to Ema. "Walk with me for a little bit?"

Ema took his hand and they left to walk around town.

After a few minutes of silence, Tsubaki squeezed Ema's hand and asked, "Do you think that Azusa's voice is better than mine?"

"Not at all," Ema replied, surprised as the question. "Like I told Azusa, I think you're both amazing, you just have different strengths. I love your voices, Tsuba-nii. I own a lot of games that are voiced by both you and Azusa. Why would you ask that, Tsubaki? You're one of the most popular voice actors in the country."

"Azusa is smarter than me. He's always been better at almost everything. Voice acting was my thing and even though I dragged Azusa into doing it with me, he still excelled quicker than me in college. I've never resented him for it, but it's hard sometimes."

"Maybe that's good for you," Ema said slowly. "I don't feel like you're behind Azusa at all in terms of your voice acting skills, but there's always room for improvement. Maybe you and Azusa can be friendly rivals, pushing each other to be better."

Tsubaki gave a surprised laugh as he led Ema into a park. "Maybe," he agreed.

Ema let a few moments pass before asking, "Are you really okay, Tsubaki?"

Tsubaki sighed and looked up at the darkening sky. "I am sad, but I meant what I said. Azusa will do amazing, and I'm grateful that I'll still be part of this project. Really, it's incredible that they're redoing this anime and they're doing it while I'm a popular voice actor. My two dreams in life were to have a real little sister and to be a part of this anime. What have I got to complain about?" Tsubaki stayed quiet for a few steps, then said quietly, "I just need a little time to walk around and clear my head, that's all."

"Okay," Ema agreed, leaning her head against Tsubaki's arm, still holding his hand. "Just let me know when you're ready to go home."

~.~

Soon after, Ema was at the bookstore when she found an anime fan magazine with Tsubaki and Azusa on the cover. Curious, she picked it up and read that the magazine had a spotlight on the robot anime that was being redone, and Tsubaki and Azusa had been interviewed about what it was like to voice rivals of each other in such an iconic anime.

Ema smiled and put the magazine in her basket, both thinking that it would be fun to read and that it'd be fun to have a magazine with two of her brothers on the cover. She already had one with Fuuto and another one with his whole band on the cover. Maybe she'd start a collection.

~.~

That night after dinner, Ema sat curled up on the couch reading the magazine. The only other people in the living room were Yuuske and Wataru, who were watching a cartoon on the other side of the couch.

Azusa walked into the living room on his way to grab some juice from the refrigerator when Ema's magazine caught his eye. He recognized the title as a popular anime magazine, and the cover…Azusa walked closer to make sure that the cover was what he thought it was. Then he stared until Ema looked up.

"Yes, Azu-nii? Can I help you?"

"You bought the magazine that interviewed me and Tsubaki?"

"Yes!" Ema said, her eyes lighting up in excitement. "I saw it at the bookstore today. It's fun to read about the changes between the original anime and the new one, and about what it's like for you and Tsubaki to play rivals."

Azusa couldn't stop the smile curling his mouth as he folded his arms and looked at Ema. "You do remember that mine and Tsubaki's rooms are right next to yours, right? You could have just asked us the interview questions in person rather than buying the magazine."

Ema shrugged, a shy smile on her face. "I think it's cool. How many girls get to buy magazines with their brothers on the cover?"

Azusa shook his head, "Well, thank you for your support, Imouto-chan." His look became more serious. "But seriously, I do want to thank you for your support. Things between me and Tsubaki could have gotten really messy if you hadn't stepped in."

"You would have sorted it out," Ema assured Azusa. "No one is closer than you two."

Azusa shook his head. "Tsubaki and I owe you a lot. Especially because that's the second time you've stepped in to save mine and Tsubaki's relationship, which is the most important thing in this world to me. Thank you, Ema."

~.~

"She's so wonderful," Natsuki gushed, putting a hand to his face. "She's just the perfect girlfriend."

Tsubaki rolled his eyes at Azusa, beyond tired of listening to their coworker gush about his girlfriend. Natsuki was working on the robot anime with them. They'd both worked with Natsuki before, and he was a good voice actor, but it seemed that every single day of recording he had to tell the twins all about his new girlfriend. Tsubaki was happy for Natsuki, but couldn't care less about what cute thing 'Ayo-chan' had done now.

Tsubaki tuned Natsuki out, taking a drink of his water and wondering what Ema and Ukyo were making for dinner. Finally, Natsuki sighed and said, "It's really amazing to have a girl who's always there for you, you know? To pick you up when you fail and to celebrate with you when you succeed. That's the most important quality in a girlfriend, my friends. What you two need is to find a girlfriend who supports you with her all."

Tsubaki and Azusa threw shocked looks at each other. After being so close for so long, they both instinctively knew that the other twin was thinking exactly the same thing they were. That Ema fit Natsuki's words perfectly.

Azusa looked worriedly at Tsubaki, wondering what this revelation would mean for them. Just because Ema would make the perfect girlfriend didn't mean that they…He wasn't sure how to finish his thought. Ema had done so much for them, so much for _him._ He couldn't have reached the point he was at in his life now with the confidence he had without Ema's support. He always wanted her support and he wanted to be able to support her in turn, but did that mean Azusa thought of Ema as anything other than his younger sister?

Tsubaki wondered what was going through Azusa's head. His twin looked frazzled and concerned. The thought that Ema would make a great girlfriend was…weird. Tsubaki had always wanted a real little sister and doted on Ema as such. He'd once joked that he'd never give Ema up to another man so she should just marry him. He'd only been joking when he'd said that, but Tsubaki remembered how upset he got when Ema brought home a boy from school the year before. The thought of another man holding Ema and kissing her made Tsubaki feel sick, and he didn't think it was just the feelings of an older brother towards his younger sister.

Azusa numbly followed Tsubaki and Natsuki to the recording room as he thought that he and Tsubaki might possibly be heading for their worst conflict yet. And this time, Ema wouldn't be able to solve it.

~.~

Iori stood at the top of the stairs, watching his family at dinner. He'd gotten home late tonight because he'd been studying for college exams, which were almost here. He did _not_ like what he saw. Tsubaki sat next to Ema and kept finding excuses to touch her. On Ema's other side, Azusa kept engaging her in conversation.

This was a problem. Iori didn't blame Ema for this, though. There were just too many men in this house. Too many wolves.

Ema looked up and spotted Iori. She smiled and she called out, "Welcome home, Iori! We saved a place for you." Iori smiled back, his heart momentarily comforted by Ema's warm smile, but that didn't erase the problem before Iori. Something would have to be done.


	15. Toy Convention and the Beach

**A/N:** I'm not happy with this chapter (Except for the beginning with Yusuke, because he's usually easy to write). The rest of it gives me fits. Hopefully, it's at least passable. I got ahead in my writing and Minty Toothpaste's, xsafyx's, and AimitheVillain's wonderful reviews made me want to post early (thanks so much for giving such detailed reviews!).

 **Chapter 15: Toy Convention and the Beach**

Yusuke stared straight ahead, trying his best to keep a stoic look on his face, but he could feel that he was bright red. He just hoped that none of his brothers looked into the back seat and saw.

They had left the house early that morning to spend Ema's and Yusuke's spring break at the family's beach house along with Kaname, Masaomi, Wataru, Louis, Iori, and the twins. They had to leave early so that they'd get there in time for some convention or another that Wataru wanted to go to. Yusuke had been upset about having to get up so early and planned to sleep on the drive down, but that plan quickly derailed. On one side, Yusuke had Wataru lying on his lap, which he did _not_ appreciate. On his other side, Ema had fallen asleep on his shoulder, which he _very much_ appreciated.

Yusuke could smell Ema's shampoo and the light floral scent made him blush even more. Having Ema leaning against him, having her trust him enough to fall asleep on him, was a dream come true, but he couldn't relax no matter how hard he tried. He was sure he'd be sore later from how tense he was.

Yusuke tried to take to take a deep, calming breath. When he exhaled, his shoulders lowered and Ema shifted, her head moving to nestle against his neck. Yusuke froze, terrified of waking her up.

Part of Yusuke was really grateful that the universe had conspired to make this situation happen, but another part of him really wished that he could put his arm around Ema and pull her closer. Of course, only a boyfriend could do that, and, at the moment, he was only her boyfriend inside his dreams.

Yusuke looked up in surprise as the car came to a stop. They were already at the beach house. He sighed in disappointment. That was the shortest the long drive had ever been. He wished it had gone on for a bit longer.

Next to him, Ema stirred and lifted her head. "Mmm," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes and looking adorable. "Are we already there?"

"Yeah," Yusuke answered. "We just got here."

"Sorry for using you as a pillow, Yusuke," Ema apologized, a light blush on her face. "I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"I-it's fine," Yusuke said, looking at the floor of the car instead of at Ema. "I don't mind."

"We're here!" Wataru exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air and hitting Yusuke in the face.

"Hey, watch it!" Yusuke said, knocking Wataru's hand away.

"It's so nice to be able to come to the beach house during spring break," Ema said as she got out of the car.

"Yeah," Yusuke agreed. "One last opportunity to relax before we're hit with end-of-the year tests."

"But Onee-chan is going to play with me today, right?" Wataru reminded, grabbing Ema's hand. "We're going to the toy convention with Mao-nii today!"

Yusuke slumped, having forgotten that Ema was going with Wataru to the convention. He came out all this way only to be stuck with his brothers on the first day. At least he'd gotten to ride down next to Ema.

"Let's put our bags inside the house," Masaomi said. "And then the three of us will head back out."

"Yay!" Wataru exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air again.

~.~

"Look at that!" Wataru exclaimed, gripping Ema's arm and pointing to a ten-foot tall roller coaster made out of K'NEX. "It's huge!" He gasped as he saw a tank made out of Legos. "That's the tank from the game that Azu-nii and Tsuba-nii we're in!"

Masaomi and Ema followed along behind as Wataru dragged them from sight to sight, excited by each new thing that he saw.

As Wataru marveled over a mini-water park with real running water for Pokémon, Ema saw a woman a few feet away nudge her friend and then heard her say, "Isn't that an adorable little family? I wish that my husband would come to things like this with me."

Ema felt her face burn as the friend responded, "I know. My husband thinks that if it involves the kids, it's my responsibility. I hope that woman knows how lucky she is."

"Ema," Masaomi prompted, and Ema jumped in surprise. "We're moving on now."

"Okay," Ema squeaked, hoping that her red face wasn't too obvious.

"Is something wrong?" Masaomi asked.

Ema shook her head. "No, everything is fine."

Wataru gripped Masaomi's and Ema's hand, swinging his arms back and forth with a big grin on his face as he looked around at everything. "How many toys can I get, Mao-nii?"

"You can get two less expensive toys or one expensive toy," Masaomi reminded him.

"Right," Wataru said, a serious look on his face as he gave a firm nod. "I have to choose carefully, so I should see everything before I make my choice."

Ema giggled at Wataru's solemn attitude. "That's a good plan. Then you can make sure that you don't regret what you chose if you see something that you like better later on."

"Right," Wataru agreed. "Kyo-nii is always saying that you should have a plan for everything. And he told me—" Wataru broke off with a gasp. "Remote control race cars!" He let go of his siblings' hands and ran towards the demonstration.

"Can I try?" Wataru asked the man standing at the mini-race track.

"Of course!" The man said. "And one other person can try with you."

"Mao-nii!" Wataru called, waving him over. "Come race with me. I'll take the green car and you can use the blue one."

Ema followed Masaomi over and caught the helpless look on Masaomi's face when the salesman handed him a controller. Ema bit her lip to hide her smile and reached over to point. "That button is to make the car go," she told Masaomi. "If you want the car to go forward you push it forward, and if you want the car to go in reverse, you push it backwards. These buttons are to control which direction the car drives. You can turn it right or left or make it spin in circles."

Masaomi nodded through Ema's explanation, giving her a grateful smile. However, the race between Masaomi and Wataru clearly showed who held the greater experience with remote control cars when Masaomi lost badly to Wataru.

"Perhaps your wife would like a turn?" The salesman offered.

Masaomi stuttered and flushed red as Ema felt her own face turning dark again.

"No, that's okay," Wataru said. "It'd be fun to play with Onee-chan, but we have to go check out other stuff now. Thanks, though!"

Ema and Masaomi followed along awkwardly behind Wataru. After a few steps, Masaomi said, "Sorry about that, Ema."

Ema peeked over to see Masaomi looking at the floor. "It's okay," she assured him. "It's not your fault. And people have been saying it all day. I guess the three of us must really look like a family."

"I think you would make a wonderful mother," Wataru said, looking over his shoulder to smile at Ema. Ema blinked in surprise. She'd assumed that Wataru hadn't heard the salesman calling her Masaomi's wife and that was why he hadn't commented on it. "And Mao-nii would definitely make the best father."

Masaomi's face turned even redder and now Ema stared at the floor too. She was flattered that Wataru thought she'd make a good mother, but also embarrassed. With her stepmother being gone most of the time, Ema wondered if she was more like a mother than a sister to Wataru, just like Masaomi was more like a father than a brother to him.

Ema's thoughts were interrupted when they heard a cry of, "Toka? Toka! Please, is anyone here a doctor? My husband just collapsed!" Masaomi's head whipped towards the sound of the woman's voice and he made a beeline straight for a woman wringing her hands next to a fallen man. Ema and Wataru trailed behind Masaomi, standing back as he checked the man over.

A crowd started gathering and Masaomi ordered everyone to get back and give the man space. Ema was surprised, having never seen Masaomi so forceful and serious before. He seemed to become a different person as he took care of the man. One of the employees of the convention ran to get a first aid kit and soon returned. A few minutes later, Masaomi tossed Ema a distracted look and said, "This man is going to be fine, but I need to stay here for a while. Why don't you and Wataru keep looking around? I'll come join you when I can."

"Okay, Masaomi-kun," Ema agreed. "If you're sure." Wataru took Ema's hand and they continued walking, more subdued this time. Ema eventually shook off her surprise and gave Wataru's hand a squeeze. "It's okay, Wataru-kun," she told him. "Mao-nii said that the man will be okay, and he knows what he's talking about."

"I know," Wataru replied. "Mao-nii is a good doctor. It's lucky that we were right there. I just feel bad for leaving him behind."

"He wouldn't want you to feel that way," Ema told Wataru. "He told us to go on because he wants you to have fun today."

"Yeah," Wataru agreed quietly, then looked at Ema with a panicked, earnest expression. "Not that I don't think it's fun to just be with you! I love playing with you, Onee-chan." Wataru pulled her closer and hugged her arm.

"I know," Ema said with a laugh. "It's just more fun when there are more people."

"That's right," Wataru declared. "Now, what kind of toy do you think I should get?" He looked around them, peering at the various displays. "I think that we've seen almost everything now. What did you think was the coolest, Onee-chan?"

"Well, I think a game that we could all play as a family would be nice," Ema said.

"Good idea!" Wataru exclaimed. "Spending time with family is the best. You've always taught me that."

"I have?" Ema asked in surprise.

"Yeah! You read me bedtimes stories when I was younger and Mao-nii was at the hospital, and you always play games with me and help me with my homework when I ask. You always put family first."

"I'm glad that I've been able to teach you that," Ema said, still surprised at Wataru's words. She hadn't realized that Wataru had been watching and learning from her example, but the thought made her warm inside. Older sisters should be good role models. "I think that family is the most important thing in the world. Let's pick a good game, and then find another toy for you."

~.~

Tsubaki sat with his head resting on the back of the couch, staring out the window. Why did Ema have to leave the moment they got there? He'd been looking forward to going out on jet skis with Ema and Azusa. She'd been gone for two hours already and Tsubaki was beyond bored. Really, he should be grateful for this time to think. He couldn't get Natsuki's words about needing a girlfriend who supported you out of his head. Or, more accurately, he couldn't get Ema in connection with that statement out of his head.

He knew he should be using this time to try to figure out his feelings for Ema and whether he loved her more as a brother or as a man, but the whole thing was so complicated. He'd rather just push the issue to the back of his mind and ignore it for now.

"So you can't have any fun if Ema's not around?" An irritated voice asked from behind Tsubaki.

Tsubaki turned around in surprise to see an annoyed looking Azusa. His twin had his arms crossed as he stared down at Tsubaki. "I always love spending time with you, Azusa," Tsubaki said. "I'm happy to do whatever you want to do."

"Let's go out on the boat," Azusa suggested, staring out the window at the ocean. "I'm tired of sitting around." Azusa tried to tamp down on his irritation as he and Tsubaki made their way to the boat. He hated feeling upset with his twin.

On the boat, both twins stayed quiet. Tsubaki was caught up in thinking that for so long he thought that only Azusa would truly understand him, but now there was Ema too. If Ema were just a friend instead of his stepsister, things would be easier. He'd suggest they go on a couple dates and see what happened, but things were more complicated than that.

Azusa's mind turned towards Tsubaki telling him about Ema saying that the twins were rivals. That had surprised Azusa. Most things in life came easily to him. School had never been a real challenge, and when Tsubaki convinced Azusa to follow him in voice acting, Azusa had no problem picking up on the techniques. Because of that, Azusa had never really taken anything he did seriously before. Now he wanted to try harder. For Tsubaki to show that he respected his twin as his equal in the acting field and to do justice to the character that first inspired Tsubaki to be a voice actor, as well as for Ema to show her that his voice acting was as amazing as she thought it was.

~.~

The morning after the toy convention, Ema sat on the beach playing with Louis. While Louis didn't like swimming very much, he did enjoy building sandcastles.

"We can use this as part of the base," Ema said, flipping her bucket full of sand over before carefully lifting the bucket off the circular mound of sand. "Just one more and we'll have all four corners of the castle, then I'll build the moat and leave the rest of the castle building to you. You do a much better job than I do."

"I like your sand castles just fine," Louis said, sculpting the top of one tower.

"They're not nearly as good as yours," Ema argued, finishing the last corner. "They're better than they used to be after I've watched you build sandcastles for years, but I'm not an artist like you. I love the sandcastles that you make." She paused to look Louis over. The sun wasn't very high in the sky yet, but she was still a little worried. Louis passed out at least once every year at their beach house due to sun exposure. "Just make sure that you don't overdo it, Louie."

"All right, Em-chan," Louis said. "But I do have to finish the castle for the princess before we can go inside." He looked up from his work to smile at Ema, letting her know that she was the princess he was referring to.

"The princess appreciates it," Ema said as she started scrapping away sand to make a moat, "but she'd hate for the architect to get sick in the process."

"I'm not an architect, I'm a knight," Louis argued. "The castle is to protect the princess. The princess always does so much to take care of her people, but someone needs to make sure the princess is taken care of too."

Ema felt warm inside at Louis' words. Louis always seemed to be quietly in the background, there whenever Ema needed him. "The princess doesn't mind her work," Ema told Louis. "It makes her happy to take care of her family."

Louis nodded, still focused on the sandcastle. "That's true, but I want the princess to know that if she ever needs anything, day or night, she shouldn't hesitate to come to her knight for help."

"Thank you, Louis," Ema said, touched and stopping a moment. Louis paused to smile at Ema and they continued on with their work.

~.~

That night, Ema looked out the window as she finished washing the dishes. The stars were so much brighter at the beach house than they were in the city. Drying her hands, she decided to sit out on the beach and watch the stars for a while. In the living room, she heard her brothers watching a movie that Tsubaki had brought. She slipped quietly passed the living room, knowing that if her brothers saw her going outside, one of them would feel obligated to follow.

To her surprise, there was already a figure on the beach, leaning back on their elbows to stare up at the night sky. When Ema got closer, she realized it was Kaname. "Do you mind if I sit down?" Ema asked. Kaname gestured to the spot next to him and Ema sat, tilting her head back to look at the stars.

They stayed that way for a while, silently watching the stars. Ema's thoughts eventually got caught up with the future, dreams, and careers, and she asked, "Why did you choose to become a monk, Kana-nii?"

"Like our brothers are always saying, rather than getting a real job I got one where I could just play around all day," Kaname joked.

"If that's what you really wanted, why not just join a host club?" Ema asked, turning to face him. "I'm sure that you could have gotten in with your looks and your charm."

Kaname was surprised into silence for a moment before he flashed a smile at Ema. "So you think I'm good looking and charming. Does that mean that I'm your type?"

This time, Ema was surprised into being quiet. She knew that Kaname loved to flirt, but he rarely flirted with her. She wasn't sure what to make of it. "I'd more say that you're an enigma to me," Ema replied. "I feel like I know the rest of our brothers really well for the most part, but there's still a lot about you that I don't understand. All I can say for sure about you is that you care about our family a lot, and I think that you care about other people a lot too. I know that you do more than just play around at the shrine."

Feeling shy, she finished with, "I think it'd be nice to get to know you better," before she turned her attention back to the night sky.

Kaname's attention remained on Ema. His chest tightened as he thought about what an incredible young woman Ema was turning into. She was becoming more beautiful all the time and she was still as kind and innocent as she'd always been. Personally, Kaname felt that Ema already knew plenty about him. She always ignored his faults and it made him want to be a better person. Lately he'd had to wonder if it was because he wanted to shine brighter in his little sister's eyes or because he wanted to become a man worthier of Ema's praise.

A half hour later, Ema and Kaname finally went inside. As Ema walked passed the hall, a hand grabbed her arm. Ema jumped in surprise and turned to see Iori. His face lay in shadow as he asked, "What were you and Kaname talking about?"

Ema blinked, surprised at Iori's attitude. "Just about careers," Ema answered, not wanting to give a deeper answer than that. "Yusuke and I had career day at school a little while ago and I've been preoccupied with the future lately."

"Oh," Iori said, loosening his grip and stepping into the light. "I've been caught up in thinking about the future too lately. Maybe we could discuss our future plans together sometime soon."

Ema had forgotten that Iori would graduate from high school that year. She remembered him discussing colleges with their older brothers. "Have you decided where you're going to go yet?" She asked.

"I'm still thinking about it," Iori responded. "I have some things that need to be considered before I make my final decision."

 **A/N:** For some reason, I really struggle to write scenes focusing on Louis and Kaname, though I adore both of them. I know that Kaname is a big flirt and usually cheerful, but for this fic I felt like Kaname might show his more serious side to his little sister. (It'd be kind of awkward if he started off flirting with his eleven-year-old sister, and I feel like transitioning into flirting with her now that she's older is difficult since their relationship is different.)


	16. Cat Sitting and Matchmaking

**Chapter 16: Cat Sitting and Matchmaking**

Ema's phone beeped at lunch and she pulled it out to see a message from Natsume.

'Can you come by my apartment after school today? I need to ask you a favor.'

"What's up?" Yusuke asked when he saw Ema staring at her phone. "Does Kyo-nii want you to pick up ingredients for dinner again?"

"No," Ema said, shaking her head. "Natsume's asking me to go to his place today so he can ask me a favor."

"Why not just ask you over text?" Yusuke asked, wondering what Natsume wanted from Ema.

"I don't know," Ema said. "I guess I'll find out."

~.~

Not knowing what Natsume wanted from her or when she would be home, Ema sent Yusuke home with a message for Ukyo that she might not be home for dinner, then she took the train in the opposite direction towards Natsume's apartment. Most of Natsume's favors were him asking her to test out one of his company's games, but if it were that he would have just let her know in the text.

When Ema reached Natsume's apartment, she'd just raised her hand to knock on his door when she saw him coming down the hallway. His tie was loosened and he carried a briefcase in one hand with his suit jacket slung over his arm.

"Good, you just got here," he said, sounding relieved. "I was hoping you wouldn't have to sit around waiting for me."

"This is early for you to be home," Ema commented. She'd come over to his apartment enough times to play games to know that he usually got home later in the evening. Especially when he was working on a deadline for a game.

"I know," he said as Ema moved out of the way to let him open the door. "That's part of the reason I asked you here tonight. I'm really sorry to ask you this last minute."

"Ask me what?" Ema asked as they walked inside. The moment they entered the hallway, Natsume's two cats, named after his triplets, ran forward, twining between Natsume's legs and meowing for attention.

Natsume stumbled and cursed. "Tsubaki, Azusa, at least let me put my things down before you start demanding things from me." Natsume tossed his briefcase and jacket on the couch before pouring some food into the cats' food dishes. "There. Now will you leave me alone for five minutes?"

The two cats sat down, contentedly eating their food.

"You'd think I starved them the way they act," Natsume said, shaking his head at the two felines.

"Um, about the favor?" Ema prompted.

"Right," Natsume said, walking towards his room. Ema followed along behind, wondering why Natsume seemed to be in such a hurry. Ema stood in the doorway as Natsume pulled a suitcase out of his closet and started picking clothes out of his dresser.

"I have to go out of town for a meeting with another game developer that we're partnering with," Natsume explained. "They sprang this on me last minute. I wasn't the one who was supposed to go, but my coworker had a family emergency and they asked me just this morning if I could go. It's for a week and they already booked a flight for me tonight. I had to come home early so I could pack before leaving."

Ema stayed by the door as she watched Nastume pack, still wondering what the favor was. Natsume seemed scatter brained and stressed about the meeting, so she didn't want to interrupt his train of thought.

"Anyway," Natsume said, now pulling suits from his closet and folding them neatly, "I need someone to watch Tsubaki and Azusa while I'm away. They need to be fed and given water, and their litter box needs to be cleaned every day. And I, and they, would appreciate it if you could spend some time playing with them. You know how those two get when they feel like they're not getting enough attention."

Natsume looked up from his packing to cast a worried glance at Ema. "Would you be able to watch them for me? Like I said, I'm sorry to ask you this last minute. If it's too much trouble I can see if one of our brothers can do it. I'd rather it be you, but I understand if you can't." Natsume wasn't thrilled with the idea of any of his brothers poking around his apartment, and he was sure that out of the brothers he could ask who could and would reliably come and take care of his cats, they probably would poke around or use his stuff. Azusa wouldn't, but if he asked Azusa he was one hundred percent sure that Tsubaki would come with him and Tsubaki would be the worst in regards to messing around with Natsume's things.

"No, it's no trouble at all," Ema reassured Natsume. "Your apartment's not too far from school, so I'll just drop by every day after class to check on Azusa and Tsubaki and spend some time with them."

"Thank you, Ema," Natsume said, giving her a grateful look. "I really appreciate it. You're welcome to use or borrow any of my games while I'm gone."

"Thanks!" Ema chirped. "I might take you up on that offer." She'd really been wanting to get ahead in Zombie Hazard, but it was sometimes difficult to find much gaming time with so many brothers around. There'd be nothing wrong with her staying at Natsume's a little late every day to play video games for a bit. And Tsubaki and Azusa would appreciate the company.

"Here's an extra key to my apartment," Natsume said, grabbing a key off the top of his dresser and handing it to Ema. "You already know where the cats' food and litter box is."

"Yep," Ema said, nodding her head. "And if you think of anything you forgot to tell me, you can always call or text me."

"Okay," Natsume said, zipping up his suitcase and glancing at his watch. He grimaced when he saw the time. "I've got to get going now. Feel free to stick around for a while if you'd like. Again, thank you for doing this. I really appreciate it, Ema."

"Of course! I'm to help."

The cats watched Natsume leave with his suitcase with displeased looks on their faces, so Ema stayed a while to play with them, taking out their feather toys.

~.~

When Ema arrived home that evening, she expected to find her brothers sitting down to dinner. Instead, she found mostly everyone gathered in the living room with Miwa standing in the center.

"Mom?" Ema said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Ema" Miwa said, giving Ema a tense smile. "I'm here to set up a marriage meeting for Masaomi."

"What?" Ema asked in shock, her gaze shooting to her oldest brother. Masaomi sat on the couch, looking very unhappy.

"I already told you that I'm not interested in getting married right now, Mom," Masaomi said, sounding frustrated. "I have no desire to go to this marriage meeting."

"She's the daughter of one of my business partners," Miwa said, almost talking over Masaomi. "She knows about you and has taken a liking to you. The time and place have already been decided."

"Without my consent," Masaomi said, sounding more frustrated than Ema could recall having heard before. "If I was interested in your help in getting married, I would have gone to you."

Miwa sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I know, I'm sorry, Masaomi." She moved to sit beside her son. "My business partner, Uhara Sunaka-san, arranged all of this without talking to me. He thought that it would be a good idea and only talked to me after he set everything up. Please go to this. If you don't like her and don't want to get married, then you can turn down the marriage after the matchmaking, but please at least go to it."

"Fine," Masaomi agreed, still not looking happy. "I'll go."

~.~

"If we take that angle then we'll reach more of the female demographic," Natsume explained to the group of game developers before him. "Zombie games aren't just for guys anymore." Thanks to Ema being in his life, Natsume had learned a lot about what interested girls in action games. He'd worked hard at his company to break the bias that only guys were interested in zombie and shooter games. The insights that he gained from Ema helped him improve his company's games and had led to at least one promotion.

"I see," Matsuko, a man from the game company they were partnering with said, nodding. "Does your company have any experience with this showing that it actually works?"

"We've seen it work multiple times," Wakabe, Natsume's coworker, assured Matsuko. "We have the sales reports from four of our games released in the past two years that we've brought along," Wakabe said, bringing up the slides on the projector.

Matsuko and his companions looked pleased as they looked over the numbers. "Impressive. Let's take a break now for dinner and we'll reconvene our discussions tomorrow morning."

Natsume pulled out his phone, grateful to finally be done for the day. The moment he was away from the conference room, he dialed Ema.

"Hello?" A soft voice answered.

"Hey, Ema. Just checking in to see how things are going." He leaned against the wall as he talked to her, still grateful and relieved that Ema had been willing to take care of his cats for him. He wouldn't have felt comfortable having anyone else in his apartment without him there.

"Good!" Ema exclaimed. "I bought treats for Tsubaki and Azusa today. They were very excited to have them and then I played with them with the laser pen for a while. I think that they both miss you, though. Every time I walk in they meow and look around like they're waiting for you to appear behind me, or are asking me where you are."

Natsume chuckled. "Those two are babies. They can't stand it when they don't get all the attention they feel is their due. They'll probably ignore me for at least two days after I get back to punish me. Maybe you should stick around for a little when I get back so they feel they have someone suitable to give them attention."

"I can do that," Ema agreed. "Besides, I think that some of the games I've been playing at your apartment would be more fun with two players. I can challenge you when you get back."

Natsume smiled. "That sounds fair. Consider it payment for taking care of those two trouble makers for me while I'm gone."

"I'll hold you to that!" Ema said and they said their goodbyes.

Natsume was smiling at his phone when he felt someone else's eyes on him. He looked up to see Wakabe grinning at him. "Who was that?" Wakabe asked. "Your girlfriend?" He moved closer and bumped Natsume's shoulder with his own. "It must have been because I've never seen you smile like this before. How could you keep something like this from me? Aren't we friends?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Natsume said, feeling his face heat up. Why was he getting embarrassed?

"Really?" Wakabe asked, raising one eyebrow and looking skeptical. "It didn't sound that way to me. You have a woman hanging around your apartment while you're gone, which you seem totally okay with, and you just invited her to stick around once you return with the lame excuse that your cats will want her there to give them attention."

"It's not like that," Natsume argued, not sure what to say. Though he cared for Ema, by moving out shortly after she joined the family, he'd never really seen her as a little sister. It felt weird to call Ema his stepsister. She was more like a friend who loved gaming as much as he did. And who happened to live with all his brothers. "She's the girl who I use to test our games on when we're worried that they're too hard."

"Ooohhhh," Wakabe said, looking entirely too pleased. " _That_ girl. So, the one that you're in constant contact with and who you use work as an excuse to see."

"That's not—" Natsume started to say before Wakabe's words made Natsume pause. Did he use work as an excuse to see Ema? Ema usually invited Natsume whenever the family planned to do something together, but other than that he only saw Ema over video game related activities, whether she was asking him for help or he was giving her a demo. Work stuff. But that didn't mean that it was an excuse. It was just something that the two of them had in common with each other.

"That's not…what?" Wakabe prompted, holding one hand to his ear and leaning towards Natsume. "I'm afraid I didn't catch the end of that, Natsume-kun."

Natsume sighed and shook his head. "It's just not like that, okay? She's just a friend who's doing me a favor. As surprising as it may seem to you, guys and girls can be close friends without there being any romantic feelings involved."

"I never said that they couldn't," Wakabe said, placing a hand on Natsume's shoulder. "My observations are based on the fact that I've never seen you let a woman into your life like you have with this girl. And the fact that you were still smiling _after_ you hung up the phone. Do you know how rare it is to see you smile? You usually have such a deadpan expression on your face."

Wakabe released Natsume's shoulder and began walking away. "You should try smiling more often, Natsume-kun, it looks good on you." Wakabe looked back at Natsume and gave him one last grin. "Maybe if you're smart enough to make that girl your girlfriend, everyone at the office will get to see you smile too."

~.~

Masaomi pulled at his tie as he walked into the fancy hotel where the marriage meeting was taking place. He hated wearing suits and ties. They always made him feel so uncomfortable. He felt like he was choking.

His mind wandered back to that morning. He'd been so upset about the marriage meeting that he hadn't been able to get his tie right. At breakfast, Ema had offered to help him, saying that Rintaro taught her how to tie ties. Masaomi still blushed at the memory of Ema standing so close to him while helping him with his tie. The whole scene had felt so domestic. Like a helpful wife getting her husband ready for an important meeting at work.

"Asahina-san!" A man called, walking towards Masaomi. He held his hand out to Masaomi. "I am Niragi Kato. I work for Uhara-san. Since he and your mother are so busy with their companies, he asked me to oversee this marriage meeting."

"It's nice to meet you, Niragi-san," Masaomi said, forcing a polite smile. Kato led Masaomi to a lavishly furnished room inside the hotel. A prim young lady sat on the couch. She stood when Masaomi entered, smiling and offering her hand.

"Thank you for coming today, Masaomi-san. My name is Uhara Keiko."

For the next hour, Masaomi sat and talked with Keiko and Kato. Keiko was a very pretty woman. Obviously cultured and well-read. Without knowing who she was, Masaomi would have easily been able to tell that she was born to a wealthy family.

They discussed marriage back and forth with Masaomi trying to politely refuse. Finally, a somewhat frustrated Keiko demanded, "Why is it that you object to a marriage between the two of us? Our families are of similar stature and both would benefit from our union. Is there something you find objectionable about me?"

"No, not at all," Masaomi hurried to say. "I think that you're a lovely young woman, but I don't feel that I'd be the best match for you. Anyone off the street would look at you and instantly know that you are from a very respectable family. I don't have that aura. I also have no ambitions in regards to my mother's or your father's company. I'm quite happy where I am working as a pediatrician."

The room was quiet as Keiko stared at Masaomi, then she shifted her gaze to her hands. "That's partially why I would like to marry you," Keiko said softly. "There are plenty of marriageable men from good families that are around my age, but most of them are arrogant and full of ambition. They think that they can do no wrong, and they will put their careers ahead of their families. I saw that happen with my own parents, and that is not what I want for me."

"That is an admirable goal," Masaomi said, touched that Keiko would share that with him. "It's good that you've realized that and are looking for a man who will make you happy rather than one who will only make your father happy. However," Masaomi hadn't been planning on bringing this up. He'd never said it out loud before, but after Keiko had been so honest with him, she deserved honesty in return, "However, I already have someone that I'm in love with."

Masaomi couldn't imagine loving a woman other than Ema. He loved how much care she took with looking after everyone and making sure that everyone always got enough to eat. He loved how she was always thinking of others and how she always took time for Wataru. He loved that she supported him, even when he showed his weaknesses to her and never judged him for it.

"Oh," Keiko said quietly. "Does she know?"

"No," Masaomi said, shaking his head. He had no intention of telling Ema his feelings for her. He knew that she regarded him as a trusted older brother and he would not take that away from her. He would not burden her with his feelings. All he wanted was for Ema to be happy. Maybe once she was married he could move on and find someone else to love. Until then, he couldn't imagine placing any woman above Ema in his life. "I'm afraid the situation is a bit complicated."

"You should tell her," Keiko urged. "Love is not something to be treated lightly. You should cherish it." Keiko sighed, finally relaxing from her perfect posture. "Well, thank you for your time today, Masaomi-san. And thank you for being honest with me."

"Of course," Masaomi said, standing and holding his hand out to Keiko. "I'm happy to have met you."

~.~

Ema tilted her head as she looked at the cake she just finished baking. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate for the occasion, but she wanted to be supportive. Despite Masaomi's claims that he didn't want to get married right now, he was such a dutiful son that Ema had a hard time imagining him refusing the marriage offer. And who knew, maybe Masaomi would end up really liking the woman. You never knew who you might fall for.

With those two thoughts in mind, Ema had decided to bake a cake to celebrate. She did think that it would be wonderful if Masaomi found someone to be with. Then Ema might become an aunt, which would be fun. On the other hand, part of her felt depressed at the thought of Masaomi moving away from the Sunrise Mansion. Home wouldn't be the same without him around.

Ema's head popped up when she heard the elevator doors ding. "Welcome home, Masaomi-kun. I baked a cake."

Masaomi looked confused as he looked between the cake on the counter and Ema standing next to it. "Um, okay." He paused. "Why did you bake a cake? Are we celebrating something?"

"I wanted to be supportive of your matchmaking meeting today. How did it go?"

"I refused the proposal."

Ema was surprised at the immediate response. "Oh. I thought that you would accept." She felt guilty about the immediate sense of relief that came over her. She realized that she'd been tense the entire time she'd been baking that evening, but now she felt as peace. She stuffed down the smile that was trying to appear on her face. "Why did you refuse? If you don't mind my asking."

"I meant it when I said that I don't intend to get married now, or for a while yet. Don't you remember my promise to take care of you and Wataru while you still need me?"

This time, Ema didn't try to stop the shy smile spreading across her face. She did remember that promise, but she was sixteen now and Wataru would be entering junior high soon. The situation was different from when Masaomi had spoken those words to her on the night of their parents' wedding. "Wataru and I will always need you, Masaomi-kun. Just not always as much as we need you right now." She paused before admitting, "I was feeling really selfish. A part of me was hoping that you would refuse the marriage proposal and stay home with everyone."

Unable to help himself, Masaomi stepped forward and enveloped Ema in a hug. He lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered, "I love how important family is to you. It's one of my favorite things about you."

Ema returned the hug and when they pulled apart said, "I guess we can eat the cake in celebration of you staying home, then."

~.~

The evening that Natsume was returning to his apartment, Ema went over a little earlier than she normally did to clean everything for him. It would be a nice surprise for him to come back to a clean home, and then he wouldn't have to worry about anything other than unpacking.

A few minutes after Ema finished cleaning, she heard the door opening. She turned around and said, "Welcome home, Natsume-kun. I hope it's okay that I'm here. I just wanted to tidy a few things up before you got home."

Natsume paused in the living room as he put his suitcase down and looked around. "This place looks amazing, Ema. You didn't have to do this."

"I know. I wanted to. I figured you'd be tired after your trip, so I wanted to do something helpful. I can make you dinner too if you want. I bought a few ingredients since you didn't have much in your fridge. Though maybe you want to be alone or just go to bed."

"Not at all," Natsume said, shaking his head as he took off his coat and dropped it on the couch. "Though I am going to insist that I make dinner. You've already done more than enough."

"I don't know if I've ever eaten your cooking before," Ema said, looking thoughtful. "I think you're the only one of our brothers other than Ukyo who knows how to cook. I look forward to the result!"

"Just don't judge me too harshly," Natsume teased. "I'm not at the same level as you and Ukyo. I just learned how to cook some easy healthy meals back when I was running track."

"I'm sure it will be good!" Ema said settling in at the counter as Natsume opened the refrigerator. "How did your business meeting turn out?"

"Good," Natsume said, before going into more detail.

After dinner, Natsume walked Ema to his door. He'd offered to play a video game with her that night, but Ema could tell how tired he was and told him that they'd do it some other time.

"Thanks again for watching the cats for me," Natsume said as he opened the door. "I'm sure they appreciated your company."

"I was happy to do it," Ema assured Natsume. "You can ask me to look after them anytime. Oh! I almost forgot." Ema pulled Natsume's extra apartment key out of her pocket and held it out to him. "Here you are."

Natsume stared down at the key, feeling reluctant to take it. It surprised him how nice it had been to come home to Ema. It had been a little weird to see her first thing, but it really felt like coming home to have Ema there welcoming him home and offering to make him dinner. His brothers probably had both every single night. The bastards. He wouldn't mind coming home to her more often.

"Why don't you keep it," Natsume suggested, closing Ema's hand around the key. "You're always welcome to come by and visit me. I could probably stand to be a little less of a recluse anyway."

"Oh," Ema said pulling her hand back. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Natsume responded. "And I mean it, Ema. You're welcome to come by anytime." They finished their goodbyes and then Natsume slowly closed the door before leaning his back against it. He stared up at his ceiling and let out a sigh. It looked like Wakabe was more right about Natsume's feelings for Ema than Natsume had wanted to admit.


	17. Cruise Part 1

**A/N:** Today sucked. I'm hoping that by posting early I'll make someone else's day a little brighter (and I plan to post two more times this week if I can manage it!)

 **Chapter 17: Cruise Part 1**

"This is so cool!" Wataru exclaimed, running on the deck of the giant cruise ship with his arms spread wide. "Look at all the ocean around us! How long do you think it'll be before we can't see land anymore, Mao-nii?"

"Calm down, Wataru," Masaomi gently admonished, pulling Wataru to his side. "You don't want to hit anyone."

"Awww," Wataru groaned, disappointed at having his excitement curtailed.

"It is really exciting," Ema said, her eyes bright as she looked around. "Though I'm still disappointed that not everyone could come." Only the twins, Yusuke, Wataru, Masaomi, Ukyo and Kaname had been able to come. Though Ema felt bad for all her brothers who had to stay home, it was her parting conversation with Fuuto that stuck out to her the most.

 _"_ _It's not fair that I have my concerts to promote my new CD this week," Fuuto sighed, looking sadly at the floor. "I'll have to miss seeing Nee-san in a swim suit and playing at the beach. It's the last big trip you'll take before your senior year and I won't be there."_

 _"_ _You see me in a swim suit playing at the beach every time we go to our beach house," Ema said, both a little irritated and confused. Fuuto flirting with her always threw her a little off balance. She didn't know if he was just practicing for his fans or teasing her. Maybe it was both._

 _"_ _I hope you don't have too much fun without me," Fuuto said._

 _"_ _I'll miss you," Ema promised. "And all our other brothers who can't make it." Fuuto's eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Maybe I can watch a recording of your concert when I get back. Or maybe they'll have it playing on the cruise! I bet you're popular enough that it might be. That would be cool."_

 _Fuuto smiled and leaned towards Ema. "Wouldn't that be a great reminder of me while you're gone?" He reached up and stroked Ema's hair. "But don't worry too much about me missing out, Nee-san. I am sad that I won't be there for all the excitment, but I promise that I'll make your senior year your most exciting year in school."_

Ema still had no idea what Fuuto meant by that, but Fuuto was a little weird sometimes.

"Let's get all of our luggage put away in our rooms and meet back out here in ten minutes," Ukyo suggested.

"Okay!" Ema agreed before wheeling her suitcase behind her. Since she had a single room rather than a double, her room was in a different part of the cruise ship. The twins were rooming together, Wataru and Masaomi were sharing, and Kaname and Ukyo had a room and were making Yusuke sleep in a cot between their beds. Ema felt bad about being the only one with a room to herself, but it was one of the good/bad things about being the only girl in the family.

~.~

"Are you really going to put all your clothes into the dresser?" Tsubaki asked, watching as his twin put his carefully folded clothes away. "Why not just live out of your suitcase? We do it all the time when we travel for events to promote our animes and games."

"This is for longer than that," Azusa said, not bothering to look at Tsubaki. "And I don't want my dirty and clean clothes to get mixed. I'll put the dirty clothes in my suitcase after they're worn and leave everything else in the dresser."

Tsubaki sighed and shook his head. "You're such a neat freak sometimes. This is why I don't let you help me clean my room. Well, I'm bored of hanging around here. I'm going out on the deck. See you in a few." Azusa threw an absent-minded wave Tsubaki's way.

Tsubaki stuck his hands in his pockets as he sauntered down the hallway. He hoped that Ema was already there. She probably would be since she wouldn't want any of them to have to wait for her.

Tsubaki had to admit that Masaomi's idea of celebrating Ema's and Yusuke's last summer before college entrance exams with a cruise was a great idea. He was really looking forward to—All of Tsubaki's thoughts flew out of his head the moment he saw Ema on the deck. She was wearing an adorable summer dress that Hikaru sent her from Italy and Louis had done her hair in braids that morning. However, none of that was what made him freeze. It was the crowd of guys around her that pissed him off.

Tsubaki stalked over, nothing on his mind other than getting those men _away_ from Ema. He walked straight through the middle of them, grabbing Ema around the waist and pulling her close to him. "Ema-chan!" He exclaimed, pasting a bright smile on his face and ignoring the guys. "I hope you weren't waiting for me long."

"Tsubaki-kun," Ema said, blinking at him in surprise. "No, I've just been here for a minute."

"Oh, good. I hate the thought of you being _bothered_ for long. I'm sorry that I left you alone."

"Who are you?" One of the guys asked, folding his arms and looking Tsubaki over. "Ema-chan said that she came here with her brothers. What right do you have to interfere if we want to talk to your sister?"

Anger burned inside Tsubaki and he found himself wanting to punch the punk in the face, which surprised him since he wasn't one to turn to violence. The young men looked like they were in college, which just pissed him off more. Ema would be entering college soon and there would be a lot of guys just like these who would be there, eyeing her.

Tsubaki gently grabbed Ema's chin and titled her face, kissing her cheek. "I have the right to interfere because she's _mine_. She did come with her brothers, but she also brought her boyfriend along." Tsubaki moved Ema closer to him, hiding the look of shock on her face from the guys. "So please stop bothering her."

The guys looked disappointed and somewhat apologetic as they left. In his arms, Ema was flushed bright red and looking very confused. "Th-they weren't bothering me that badly, Tsubaki-kun," Ema said, looking up into his eyes before looking down at the deck. "I mean, I am here to spend time with my family, not get a boyfriend, but you didn't have to lie."

Ema looked so adorable being bashful that all Tsubaki wanted to do was kiss her. "You shouldn't have to put up with flirting if you don't want to. The next time something like that happens here, just point me out and say that I'm your boyfriend. Saying that you're here with your brothers won't be good enough, that won't make guys back off."

When the young man asked what right Tsubaki had to interfere, the response that he was Ema's older brother hadn't even entered his mind. At least he had an absolute answer to his feelings and what he wanted to do about them now. You could say that he owed those presumptuous punks for that, at least. The moment he saw those guys around Ema, he realized that someday, some guy _would_ come and take Ema away from him. At least, they would if Tsubaki didn't do something about it first.

"Th-that's okay," Ema stuttered. She finally looked back at Tsubaki and gave him a reassuring smile. "I don't plan to spend much time by myself on the cruise. I'll usually have one of you with me."

"Even better," Tsubaki said, cupping Ema's face and brushing his thumbs across her cheeks. "Just stay by my side and everything will be okay." He tried not to grin too widely when her cheeks turned pink again.

~.~

"I love the fancy drinks they have at places like this," Yusuke said, drinking fruit juice from a pineapple. He and Ema were sitting in lounge chairs in their swim suits by the pool on the top deck of the ship.

"Yeah," Ema agreed distractedly. It was the second day of the cruise and she still didn't know what to think of what happened yesterday with the guys flirting with her and with Tsubaki. She appreciated that Tsubaki wanted to protect her, but his methods were a little strange. Then again, Tsubaki was never conventional about anything. It was one of the things that Ema loved about him.

"You okay?" Yusuke asked, looking concerned.

"Yes! I'm fine," Ema hurried to reassure Yusuke. She didn't want him worrying about her. They all deserved to have a break during this vacation. Ema shouldn't get so caught up in Tsubaki being Tsubaki. "I'm going to go get one of those drinks myself." She just needed to relax, and then everything would be okay.

While Ema stood in line at the snack bar, she noticed a couple women gathered around a young man. They were all tan and wearing skimpy bikinis. Whoever they guy was, he must be really attractive.

Kaname was the type of guy who would attract attention like that. Ema was wondering if the man _was_ Kaname when the women parted and she saw that he had dark hair. And looked a lot like Azusa, except without glasses. Ema did a double take when realized that it _was_ Azusa. And he did not look happy with the attention.

One of the woman sidled up to Azusa. With Azusa wearing his swim suit, it had her brushing up against his bare chest. He moved back and said something, but whatever he was saying, the women didn't seem to be listening. Ema bit her lip as she wondered what she should do. The women were obviously interested in Azusa and he was too nice to simply reject them. Or his rejections were too polite so they weren't taking him seriously.

Ema stepped out of the line for the snack bar and took a few steps towards Azusa before she stopped. What could she possibly do to help in this situation? She could already imagine the looks on the women's faces if she stepped in there to try to extract Azusa. They wouldn't take a little sister seriously at all and would just view Ema as an annoying interloper. Then a light bulb went off in her head and Tsubaki's actions from yesterday suddenly made more sense to her. A little sister wouldn't be taken seriously, but a girlfriend was another matter.

Panic struck Ema as she realized she'd have to be bold if she was going to scare those women away. But this was for Azusa. Ema could be brave if it was for the sake of helping one of her brothers.

Taking a deep breath to gather up her courage, Ema came up on Azusa's free side and wrapped her arm around his waist above his swimsuit. Azusa jumped at the contact, then froze when he looked over and saw Ema.

"There you are, Azusa," Ema said, placing her other hand on his chest. "Sorry I took so long in our room. I didn't mean to keep you waiting." She cast a look at the women and moved closer to Azusa, brushing up against him. "Are you ready to go swimming now?"

All Azusa could hear after that was a rushing in his ears. His skin burned where Ema touched him and he could barely think. He had no idea what Ema was doing or why, but he didn't want her to stop. It felt intoxicating to have Ema's skin touching his, and his face heated up at the thought that they were so close and both in swim suits. Especially with Ema in a bikini. Though a tasteful one, unlike the other women surrounding him, who seemed to be experimenting with how close they could get to naked without the cruise ship confining them to their rooms for indecency. Though he wouldn't mind seeing Ema in a swim suit like that if it was just the two of them. The thought came out of nowhere and he mentally smacked himself for even thinking it.

A couple things were said that Azusa was too distracted to pay attention to before he finally heard the ringleader of the scantily clad women say, "He doesn't seem very interested in you, Hun. Maybe you should let one of us try instead."

Azusa immediately wrapped one arm around Ema, secretly delighting in the soft skin of her waist. "Sorry," he apologized, "I was just surprised to see you up. I thought you'd still be sleeping since you seemed so tired after yesterday. Are you sure you're up to going swimming?" He leaned down and tenderly kissed Ema's forehead ignoring the women around him.

He heard one of them make a disgusted noise while another muttered, "You could have said you had a girlfriend." Finally, they wandered off, probably to harass some other hapless man. Maybe Kaname would be their next target. He would enjoy the attention.

"Sorry, Azusa," Ema said, looking contrite. "You looked like you needed help and I thought the best way might be by pretending to be your girlfriend. I didn't think they'd really care if your little sister came up to you claiming to need you for something."

"No, not at all," Azusa said, moving his free hand to cover Ema's hand on his chest. He hoped she couldn't feel his heart thumping a million miles an hour. "I appreciate it. Though I'm surprised you'd come up with something like this." He hoped it was a sign that Ema possibly saw him as something other than just as a brother.

"Well, I didn't really think of it on my own," Ema admitted, pulling away from Azusa, much to his disappointment. "There were some guys flirting with me yesterday and Tsubaki pretended that he was my boyfriend to get them to back off. It seemed like the idea would work well in your situation too." Ema felt much better about yesterday now. Obviously, Tsubaki had just been concerned about Ema being uncomfortable and wanted to help her out as fast as possible, just like Ema had today with Azusa. That was all there was to it.

While Ema was feeling relieved, Azusa felt upset. Tsubaki had already made a move on Ema and he hadn't even noticed. He'd have to watch his twin carefully during this trip. And figure out how to get closer to Ema. He needed to find a way to get her to think of him as a man instead of as a brother.

 **A/N:** And the romance starts to heat up! Heck yeah, man! A thank you to all the readers who have appreciated my slow build up and who have been patient. I try to have everything make sense and flow well in my stories, which I know frustrates some readers. (I don't deny being that type of reader myself. I'm the one who's always thinking 'When are they going to kiss, dang it?!')


	18. Cruise Part 2

**Chapter 18: Cruise Part 2**

"It seems like Ema's having a good time," Masaomi commented, smiling down at her playing water volleyball with Tsubaki, Azusa, and Yusuke while he and Ukyo leaned against the deck railing and watched.

"Yeah," Ukyo agreed, his tone much less thrilled than Masaomi's.

"Is something wrong?" Masaomi asked, looking at Ukyo in surprise. Thankfully, Wataru came up at that moment and stole Masaomi away, sparing Ukyo from having to come up with an answer.

Yes, something _was_ wrong, but Ukyo couldn't have told Masaomi that. Ema was a woman now. A woman who looked extremely sexy in a bikini and he hated other men looking at her when she was dressed like that. She didn't even realize how good she looked. As usual, she was too humble and innocent to even think of something like that.

Ukyo was trying to keep an eye on Ema to make sure that no one took advantage of her, but it didn't help when the male pissing him off the most was his own brother. Tsubaki and Ema were on the same team for volleyball and Tsubaki seemed to be using every excuse in the world to touch Ema or cling to her. Admittedly, Tsubaki was always clingy with both Ema and Azusa, so it wasn't like this was anything new, but normally they weren't wearing swimsuits when Tsubaki did it.

Part of Ukyo wished they were at the beach house instead so that there wouldn't be so many guys around to gawk at Ema. He tried to console himself with the thought that with Tsubaki all over Ema, anyone watching would assume that he was Ema's boyfriend and stay away from her. However, Ukyo would have much rather played that role himself.

~.~

"Did you have to jump on her every five seconds?" Azusa asking angrily that night when everyone was back in their rooms. "Did you consider the fact that it might have made Ema uncomfortable when the two of you were only wearing swim suits?"

Tsubaki considered his twin carefully as he leaned back on his bed. "It wasn't that different from what I normally do. We were just wearing less clothes this time. And are you really upset about what I did, or are you more upset that it wasn't you doing it?"

A red flush crawled up Azusa's face and he glared at his twin. "No, I don't wish that it was me. I have no desire to make Ema feel uncomfortable. I'd rather respect her personal space."

"Really?" Tsubaki questioned, tucking his hands behind his head. "I think it's better to put her off balance. How else am I going to make her see me as anything other than her brother?"

Azusa stared at Tsubaki in silence as the tension in the room grew. There it was, Tsubaki's round-about declaration that he was after Ema. Azusa sat on his bed, clenching his fists on top of his knees. "Okay. So what are we going to do about this?" Azusa asked, referencing this new rivalry between the two of them. He didn't know how to handle this. The only times he and Tsubaki had ever fought, Ema had been there to mediate.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I plan on becoming Ema's boyfriend. You can do whatever you want."

Azusa's fists clenched tighter and he had to breathe through the anger. For Tsubaki to dismiss Azusa's chances with Ema out of hand like that ticked him off. He had just as much a chance with her as Tsubaki did. More even, because he would be more respectful and less pushy. He could well imagine his twin's style of trying to make a woman his, and Azusa didn't think that Ema would appreciate it. "I guess that when Ema and I are together, I'll have to find some way to console you. Maybe I'll be able to help you find a different girlfriend so that we can double date. Getting second best isn't so bad, right?"

Tsubaki glared at Azusa and Azusa reached out to flick off the light before pulling the sheets over himself, not bothering to change his clothes first.

~.~

The fourth day, the ship stopped in Taiwan, and the Asahina's got off to enjoy the beach.

Kaname had noticed the twins more glued to Ema's side than usual and figured that perhaps she could use a break, so ran off with her when the twins were distracted. It seemed his thick younger brothers had finally realized their feelings for their stepsister. Kaname feared how Ema would react once she found out that many members of her 'family' didn't feel so familial towards her.

"Afraid to get into the water?" Kaname teased Ema as she dipped her feet into the water. He stood a few feet back on the beach, his arms folded as he watched her.

Ema returned his smile. "The ocean's a bit colder than the pool on the ship. I'm just taking my time getting used to the temperature."

"You know the best way to get used to the cold, right?" Kaname asked, walking towards Ema.

"What?" Ema asked tilting her head.

Kaname almost felt bad for what he was about to do since Ema obviously didn't suspect a thing. When he reached her, he bent down to wrap one arm behind her knees, the other he wrapped just under her shoulders before he hoisted her up in his arms. "The best way is to just jump in and get used to it all at once."

"What?" Ema squeaked. Kaname grinned down at her and ran to a small cliff that led to a deeper part of the water. When he reached the edge, he dropped his arms, expecting Ema to fall in. However, she had her arms wrapped tightly around Kaname's neck and held herself up.

She cracked one surprised eye open and declared, "I'm too strong! You can't just throw me over."

"Okay," Kaname agreed with a shrug, wrapping his arms around Ema again and pulling her close before he jumped off the side with her in his arms. Ema let out a small scream as they fell. Immediately after they hit the water, Kaname kicked his legs to bring them to the surface.

"I can't believe you did that!" Ema gasped.

Kaname grinned wickedly. "I'm sorry, Imouto-chan. Would you rather I still treat you like a little kid who needs to wear a lifejacket and stay close to shore? I'm sure we could find a lifejacket somewhere. The cruise ship probably has some for rent."

"No," Ema said, blushing as she pushed away from Kaname. Kaname throwing the two of them over the cliff and into the water shocked Ema, but she couldn't deny that she was having fun.

Ema almost never teased her brothers, but maybe just this once…"But don't think that I won't get my revenge." Ema splashed a wave at Kaname before turning and booking it towards shore. Kaname was a much stronger swimmer than Ema, and if she wanted to have a chance in this water fight, she'd have to get to where she could stand.

She risked a glance back and saw Kaname not too far behind her. She struggled to go faster until she finally reached where her feet could touch the sand. She ducked under the water when Kaname made a grab for her, and came up slashing water. Kaname turned his head away to avoid the splash before diving under the water and pulling Ema's legs out from under her.

They went back and forth for a few minutes, moving closer to the beach where it was easier to splash each other in the shallow water. When Kaname's foot caught on a large rock, he fell forward, accidently pulling Ema down underneath him. He landed with his knees straddling Ema's waist and his hands on either side of her head.

Ema laughed as she tried to stop the small waves from filling her mouth with ocean water, but all laughter left Kaname as he stared down at Ema. Her face was only a foot from his and all he wanted to do was lean down and kiss her. Pulling her out into the ocean alone with him had been a very bad idea, despite his good intentions to give her a break from the twins. Kaname knew that he was attracted to Ema, but he hadn't expected something like this to happen.

He leaned down just an inch closer to Ema when a larger wave crashed over his back. Kaname shivered at the sudden cold, but was grateful for it. He pushed himself up onto his knees and said, "We should go find the others. It'll be lunch time soon." He pushed his hands through his hair, moving the wet strands away from his face and avoiding looking down at Ema.

"Okay," Ema agreed. "But…maybe you could get off me first?"

Kaname glanced down and flushed when he realized that he was still straddling Ema. She was lying between his knees, propped up on her elbows to keep her face out of the water. She looked at him with an innocent expression and his chest ached with the desire to pull her close and find out what she tasted like. Instead, he got to his feet and offered a hand to help her up.

~.~

The last night of the cruise, Masaomi gathered Ukyo, Kaname, and the twins in his room while Ema, Yusuke, and Wataru had dessert for the last time.

"What's up with this, Mao-nii?" Tsubaki complained. "It's our last night to party. No offense, but I don't exactly want to spend it in here with all of you."

Masaomi sighed, staring at his hands as he sat on the edge of his bed. It wasn't going to be easy to have this conversation, but Masaomi had been thinking about if for a while now. What he planned to say tonight he also needed to say to some of his brothers who weren't present, but after witnessing all that he had during the week and half they'd been on the cruise, Masaomi didn't think it would be wise for him to wait any longer to say this.

"Ema is our sister," Masaomi began, looking up from his hands to watch his brothers. The twins both froze, wondering where this was leading to. "And I don't believe that what I'm about to say applies completely to everyone in this room, but I wanted us all here to hear it. And I want us all to agree to it."

"Agree to what?" Azusa asked, having a bad feeling about this.

Masaomi stared first into Azusa's eyes, then into Tsubaki's. Out of the present group, it was the twins that Masaomi was most worried about. "We are Ema's precious family. Being a member of the Asahina family means everything to Ema, and we cannot take that away from her."

Masaomi paused, but no one spoke up, though Tsubaki crossed his arms and his eyes darkened as he stared at his oldest brother. "I know how much Ema means to all of us, but any feelings that may be had for Ema that fall outside the range of familial love…should just be left to yourselves." Tsubaki and Azusa both started to speak up and Masaomi held out one hand in a 'stop' sign before they got far. "I don't necessarily mean forever, but at least for now. It's important that Ema still feels comfortable and safe at home, as she always has. At least until she graduates from high school, I want to ask you all to keep any romantic feelings for her to yourselves. Please, at least think about it. For Ema's sake."

~.~

Iori stared blankly at the wall as he brooded in his room. He wished that he could have gone on the cruise to look after Ema. She needed someone around to protect her. Especially with his brothers around.

He fell back onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling as he contemplated what he should do. He'd been accepted to prestigious universities both abroad and in Japan. Lately he'd been thinking that he'd attend the Japanese school so that he could stay close to Ema, but maybe the two of them needed to leave Japan. With all the attention that Ema was getting at home lately, that was probably for the best. Iori would attend one year of college in Japan, and then he would go abroad, taking Ema with him.

That was the best solution.

 **A/N:** I hope Ema wasn't too OOC in her interaction with Kaname. I really wanted to do a scene like that, but I'm not 100% sure that it fits. Let's just say that Ema let loose a little while on vacation.


	19. Visit Home

**A/N:** Credit for the plotlines in this chapter go to xsafyx and guest reviewer guest97. You can also thank xsafyx for Hikaru finally reappearing again.

 **Chapter 19: Visit Home**

"Where did Kyo-nii put the carrots?" Ema mused quietly to herself as she rifled through the refrigerator. It was only 4 o'clock in the afternoon, but she and Ukyo wanted to try a complicated new roast recipe, so Ema wanted to get started earlier to make sure it was done by the family's usual dinner time. She was grateful that it was still summer since she probably wouldn't have time to make a dish like this during the school year.

"Ah! There you are." Ema reached all the way to the back of the fridge and pulled out a plastic bag full of carrots.

As she stood up, Ema heard someone say. "How mean, Imouto-chan. I come all this way to see you and you don't even greet me. Don't you always say 'welcome home' to all our brothers every day?"

Ema spun around, nearly dropping the carrots in shock. "Hikaru-kun!" Today, Hikaru stood dressed in a blue dress and white jacket with tall white boots. Ema quickly tossed the carrots on the counter before throwing her arms around Hikaru. "When did you get here? How long are you staying for?"

"I arrived in Japan today. I came to meet with my agent about the release of my latest novel. I'll need to be here for at least a week, though I'm considering extending my visit to two since it's been a few months since I've been home."

"It's been a half a year," Ema informed him, pulling back from the hug.

"How sweet of you to keep track," Hikaru said, patting Ema's head.

"Why don't you sit at the counter and talk to me while I make dinner?" Ema suggested. Hikaru obligingly went around to the other side of the counter and sat at one of the stools. "When does your new novel come out?" Ema asked excitedly as she started peeling carrots. "This one is about a female lawyer who gets dragged into the Italian mafia, isn't it?"

Hikaru smiled at Ema's enthusiasm. The genuine passion she showed for her brothers' endeavors always charmed Hikaru. She had been Hikaru's number one fan and supporter before he ever wrote a complete novel, let alone published one. "Yes. The hope is that this new one will do well enough that I'll be able to develop it into a series. The release date is two months from now."

"That would be so cool if it turned into a series! I really liked the chapters that you let me read."

Hikaru was about to respond when a voice from called out hello from the top of the stairs. "Welcome home, Tsubaki-kun," Ema said.

"Oh, you're here, Hika-nii," Tsubaki said, barely glancing at Hikaru as he swept into the kitchen and pulled Ema into his arms. Tsubaki pulled back a little to kiss her cheek. "I missed seeing you this morning, Ema-chan."

"Sorry, Tsubaki-kun," Ema said, blushing as she moved away from Tsubaki to start chopping the carrots. "I stayed up late last night playing video games, so I slept in this morning."

Tsubaki tsked at Ema. "You should be more responsible. My day isn't as good if I don't start it off by seeing you."

Ema's blushed deepened and she focused on the carrots. "I'm sure your day went just fine. You wouldn't let anything ruin your day, Tsuba-nii."

Hikaru gave a slow blink as he watched this strange exchange. Tsubaki had always been affectionate with their little sister, but this seemed new. And the frown that flickered across Tsubaki's face when Ema called him 'Tsuba-nii' was _definitely_ new.

"You shouldn't underestimate your power, Ema," Tsubaki pouted. "My days are _always_ better when you're in them."

After that, Tsubaki went to his room to read manga and Azusa came home a few minutes later.

"Oh, Hika-nii, it's been awhile since we've seen you. Welcome home."

Hikaru gave Azusa a nod, not surprised that the younger of the twins gave him a warmer welcome.

"Welcome home, Azusa-kun," Ema said, smiling at Azusa.

Hikaru watched with interest as a light blush covered his younger brother's cheeks. "Thank you, Ema. And thanks for making my lunch today. I definitely wouldn't have had time to get anything to eat between the two auditions that I had today. You're a lifesaver, and your cooking is much better than anything I could have gotten anyways."

Hikaru couldn't help but raise his eyebrows half an hour later when Iori came into the kitchen with flowers. "These are for you, Ema-chan. I'm sorry that I haven't been around much lately. I feel like we've barely been able to spend any time together."

"That's okay, Iori-kun," Ema assured him as she took the flowers, looking pleased. "I'm sure that your really busy preparing for college. I heard from Kaname-kun and Ukyo-kun that you decided to stay in Japan. I'm happy that you'll still be close by, though I'm sure that going to a foreign country for school would have been amazing."

"Yes," Iori agreed, "For now I know that Japan is where I should be. We'll see about later." Ema put the flowers in a vase and placed it on the table. "It's good to see you, Hika-nii," Iori said, giving a wave before he left for his evening shift at the café.

When Ukyo arrived home and started helping with dinner, Hikaru rested his face on his hands and watched Ukyo interact with Ema, wondering if anything had changed between these two as well. Or, perhaps more accurately, if anything had changed with Ukyo towards Ema.

An idea had been forming in Hikaru's mind during the evening as he watched his brothers interact with Ema. He wanted to verify that his hypothesis about the situation was correct. At dinner, after most of the family had gathered, Hikaru decided to carry out his idea. "Ema, dear," he began, looking across the table at his little sister, "why don't you tell me about that boy you emailed me about. I want to hear more about him."

Silence descended on the table. Ema's eyes crinkled in confusion. She tilted her head said, "I'm not sure what—" Before she could finish, Ukyo interrupted in a stiff voice to say, "I don't approve of there being a boy in your life that Masaomi and I haven't had a chance to meet and speak with, Ema."

"I don't approve of there being a boy period," Tsubaki declared darkly, his hand gripping his fork so hard his fingers turned white.

"Who is this boy?" Yusuke demanded, thinking that it had to be a boy from school, and, therefore, someone he knew. "Is it Sasakura-kun? He's not that cool, you know."

"You can't trust high school guys," Subaru warned, a panicked look in his eyes. "You shouldn't date them."

"I don't know what Hika-nii is talking about!" Ema finally burst out, raising her voice to be heard over everyone else. "The only boys I ever email Hika-nii about are all of you."

Hikaru tapped his lips with one finger and casually said, "Oh, that's right, it was my old friend from high school who told me that she met a guy." He gave Ema an apologetic smile. "Your emails and her emails read so much alike that I got the two of you confused. My mistake."

Ukyo glared at Hikaru from the head of the table, not believing Hikaru's words for a minute. Hikaru had done it on purpose, either wanting to confirm something that he suspected, or already knowing something and wanting to cause a raucous for his own amusement. Typical Hikaru.

Hikaru sat back in his chair, demurely eating his dinner. On the inside he was thinking that his brothers' reactions were even better than he'd been expecting. Apparently, he'd been missing a lot living in Italy. He was disappointed in himself for missing what appeared to be at least half his brothers falling for their stepsister. He wondered if any of them had confessed to her yet.

"So anyways…," Kaname said, breaking the awkward silence, "my shrine is holding an event this weekend to celebrate summer. You should all come."

~.~

At the shrine, Hikaru decided that he would stick close to Ema so he could further observe how his brothers acted around her. So far, based on Ema's actions and their actions, Hikaru didn't believe that any of them had confessed yet. Though, whether Ema had admitted it to herself or not, part of her seemed to realize that some of her stepbrothers were treating her differently now. She probably brushed it off as her imagination, but Hikaru didn't miss the fact that Ema seemed plenty happy to stay by his side, where as in the past she might stick with a brother she was closer to.

Speaking of sticking close to, the twins and Yusuke seemed reluctant to leave Ema's side. Of those who went to the shrine, only Masaomi and Wataru had wandered off to do their own thing. Though every one of them had seemed dazzled by the sight of Ema in a yukata and complimented her.

They were walking down a path with food and game booths on either side when a voice called out, "Ema-chan?"

Ema paused and looked around in confusion. When her eyes lighted on a handsome young man with short dark hair wearing a blue yukata and waving tentatively, her face lit up. "Masato-kun!"

The man, apparently Masato, grinned and came over. "I thought it was you, Ema-chan."

Ema, unable to contain her excitement, immediately hugged him. Masato looked surprised for a moment, but happily returned the hug. "It's been so long since I've seen you!" Ema exclaimed before letting him go. "What are you doing here?"

"My father got promoted," Masato explained, "which brought us back down to this area. As for what I'm doing here tonight…" His face flushed red. "My sister Haruka-chan wanted to check out this shrine. She heard about the monks here and all her friends were telling her she had to come here. How did you end up here? I never would have expected to see you in a place like this."

Behind the two, Azusa and Yusuke looked on with shocked expressions, confused and wishing that someone would clue them in on what was happening here. Azusa was afraid that whoever this guy was, he might be something more than a friend to Ema. Yusuke was hurt that Ema had a friend, obviously a close friend, that he knew nothing about. Tsubaki stood with his arms crossed and a ticked off look on his face. Whoever this you man was, Tsubaki wanted him gone. Hikaru, on the other hand, was amused to learn that there actually was a guy in Ema's life that her brothers didn't know about.

"One of my brothers works here," Ema explained to Masato. "He invited us to come tonight."

"One of your brothers?" Masato asked, tilting his head to the side and looking confused.

"Yep!" Ema replied cheerfully. "My father got remarried the year after your family moved and now I have stepbrothers." Ema turned to gesture at her siblings. "This is Hikaru-kun, Yusuke-kun, and the twins, Tsubaki-kun and Azusa-kun. Guys, this is Masato Hirashi-kun. He's a dear childhood friend." The Hirashi's had once lived in the same apartment complex as Ema and her father. Masato and Ema had grown up together and the Hirashi's were the family who looked after Ema the most when Rintaro was traveling and Ema was really little. Ema had been heartbroken when Masato's father was transferred for work and they moved away.

"Maybe you and I could catch up?" Masato asked, casting his eyes at Ema's stepbrothers for a second before looking back at Ema. "Would that be okay?"

Ema turned to Hikaru. "Do you mind, Hika-nii? I know I was supposed to spend this time with you since you're rarely home and you said you wanted to make the most of it…"

"Go ahead, Imouto-chan," Hikaru said, smiling cheerfully and waving her off. "Far be it from me to keep you from a childhood friend you haven't seen in years. I don't mind at all." Internally, Hikaru was laughing at the looks on his brothers' faces. The three of them needed to learn a little self-control. What if Ema turned and saw?

"Thanks, Hika-nii!" Ema exclaimed before giving him a quick hug and leaving with Masato. The next moment, Hikaru found himself confronted with three pissed off brothers.

"How could you let her go off with that guy?" Tsubaki demanded.

"You saw how excited our Imouto-chan was to see that guy," Hikaru said, acting like he was oblivious to Tsubaki's anger. "How could I have said no?"

Masaomi and Wataru appeared a moment later. "Where's Onee-chan?" Wataru asked, looking around.

"She left with an old friend she hadn't seen in a while," Hikaru answered with a shrug. "They wanted to catch up."

"A friend that none of us know anything about," Azusa muttered darkly. Masaomi's heart clenched at the thought. He wished that he had been there so he could have seen what kind of a relationship the two of them had. Then he pushed that thought aside. Whatever relationship Ema had with this friend, that was her business. As long as he didn't hurt her.

"Awwww," Wataru whined. "Why couldn't they have stayed with the family to talk? I wanted to play with Onee-chan at the festival."

"Maybe the two of them wanted to be alone," Hikaru suggested innocently.

"Why would Onee-chan want to be alone with her friend?" Wataru asked.

"Silly boy," Hikaru said, patting Wataru on the head. "There's lots of reasons that a man and woman would want to be alone together." At Hikaru's words, both Tsubaki and Yusuke took on a panicked look and they frantically searched for Ema, but she and Masato had already been lost in the crowd.

~.~

"Wow," Masato said, his eyes blinking in disbelief. "Thirteen stepbrothers, huh? That's pretty intense. Wait, you said that Hikaru person was one of your stepbrothers?"

"Yep," Ema answered, nodding.

"Oh," Masato said, thinking back. "She, I mean he, had kind of a girly yukata on."

Ema tried to stifle her giggle. "Yeah, he's got kind of an interesting style." Saying that was easier than explaining that Hikaru lived as a woman at least half the time in order to do research for his novels.

"Well, you seem glad, so I'm happy for you." Masato knew how lonely Ema had been when they were younger. Ema deserved to have a family around to help take care of her. Not that Ema was very good at letting others take care of her. She'd always been too independent and too worried about being a bother to others. Of course, she'd had to be independent with Rintaro around so little.

"What high school do you go to?" Masato asked.

"Hinode High."

"Dang, we won't be going to the same one. Well, at least we live in the same city again. Maybe we can hang out sometime."


	20. Senior Year

**Chapter 20: Senior Year**

"Only one more year," Yusuke commented as he and Ema walked the school grounds on the first day of school. "It's nice that we'll be on top as seniors this year—but it also means that next year we'll go back to being freshmen. Assuming I get in, that is."

"You'll get in," Ema said encouragingly. "You just need to think confidently. We'll study together for college entrance exams and I'm sure that Kana-nii and Kyo-nii will help us with anything that we don't understand."

"Right," Yusuke said, giving a firm nod. He needed to think positively and believe in himself. He _had_ to get into Meiji University so that he could be with Ema. He couldn't let himself fail the college entrance exams no matter what. His thoughts about college were interrupted when he saw a large crowd of students gathered by the front gates. "What do you think is going on over there?"

"I don't know. Let's go see." The two were standing at the edge of the crowd when it parted and the reason for the build-up of students became obvious.

Ema gasped while Yusuke groaned. "You have _got_ to be kidding me. What's he doing here?"

Fuuto smiled at Ema. "Hello, Nee-san. I told you that I was going to make your senior year exciting, didn't I?"

"F-Fuuto," Ema stuttered in surprise. She'd asked Fuuto multiple times where he was going to high school, assuming that it would be a school for entertainers like his junior high, but every time she'd asked he told her that it was a secret. "What are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? Going to school. What else would I be doing on the first day of school?"

"But why are you here?" Ema asked. "I mean, why come to Hinode High School? Wouldn't a high school geared towards idols be a better choice for you?"

"I'll tell you why he's here," Yusuke ground out, folding his arms and glaring at his younger brother. "To harass us. Why else would he come here? Like you said, it'd be better for him to go to a different high school. I can't believe that it's my last year of high school and now I have to deal with you here _and_ at home. It was bad enough just seeing you at home."

Fuuto tutted and shook his head. "You sure think highly of yourself, don't you, Yusuke-kun? My coming here has nothing to do with _you._ I came here for _her._ "

Yusuke froze. Did Fuuto like Ema too? He couldn't, right? He was too self-centered to care about anyone other than himself. But that didn't mean that Fuuto wasn't attracted to her. Crap.

"Don't you need to get to the entrance ceremony, Fuuto-kun?" Ema reminded her little brother, eyeing the crowd behind him. She could hear them whispering about Ema and Yusuke being Fuuto's siblings. She hoped that this wouldn't attract a lot of attention for them. She knew that Yusuke would hate that. And probably wouldn't react well to it.

"I suppose," Fuuto said with a sigh. "I'll see you soon, Nee-san."

"Don't worry, Yusuke-kun," Ema comforted as Fuuto left, trying to make Yusuke feel better. "I'm sure that Fuuto-kun won't bother you too much at school. With his job as an idol, he won't even be here a lot of the time. I bet that you'll barely notice he's here."

"Yeah, I guess," Yusuke said, staring unhappily at Fuuto's back.

~.~

Every day that week Fuuto ate lunch with Ema and Yusuke and their friends. By the third week, Yusuke had lost his patience. He was sitting at their normal lunch table by himself when Fuuto appeared. "Great, it's just you here," Fuuto said sarcastically. "Maybe I'll walk around for a little bit before having lunch. Get some fresh air. It's stifling having to sit at the same table as you."

"You don't _have_ to sit at the same table as me," Yusuke ground out, glaring at Fuuto. "There are plenty of other tables to choose from. Haven't you been here long enough to make your own friends rather than hanging out with us? Or is the famous pop idol socially inept at meeting new people?"

"Why would I want to make friends with commoners?" Fuuto asked. "And I assure you, I gain no pleasure from eating with you and your stupid friends. It's _her_ company that I want."

Yusuke clenched his hand around his soda. The can crumpled and some of the soda spilled over the top and on to his hand. "What's your game, Fuuto?" Yusuke demanded, wanting everything to be clear. "Why are you doing this? Coming to our school, eating lunch with us every day?"

Fuuto sighed. "Is there anyone in the world stupider than you? Honestly, I don't know how the two of us can possibly be related. You have had plenty of time to make your move. You've had time with Ema to yourself for the past seven years as you two went to school together. If you've been too stupid to make Ema yours by now, that is not my problem."

Yusuke ground his teeth and angrily grabbed a napkin to wipe his hand with, but didn't reply when he saw Ema approaching the table.

"Hi, Fuuto-kun!" Ema said as she sat down.

"Hello, Nee-san," Fuuto purred, sliding into the seat next to her. "I've been waiting all day to talk to you. I have a concert two weekends from now and I was hoping you'd come. I saved a ticket for you."

"Of course," Ema replied, missing the triumphant look that Fuuto shot at Yusuke. "I always love coming to your concerts."

~.~

Friday night, Ema was sitting in the front row of a stadium listing to Fuuto and the band Forte. Every time Fuuto looked towards Ema, all the girls around her screamed. While it made her cringe, it also made her smile. It was nice to see that Fuuto was so popular and so loved by his fans.

Afterwards, Ema used the backstage pass that Fuuto had given her to go to his dressing room.

"What did you think?" Fuuto asked when Ema opened the door.

"It was great!" Ema said. "I loved the new song you sang. I hadn't heard it yet. And you're so good at getting the crowd energized and excited. It's late, but I'm wide awake after listening to you."

"I'm glad you liked the song," Fuuto said, walking towards Ema. His new song was about a guy wanting a girl who was oblivious about it. "You inspired it."

"I inspired it?" Ema asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

Fuuto now stood almost toe to toe with Ema and she stepped back in surprise until she hit the wall. Rather than answering her, Fuuto asked. "Do you know why I decided to go to your high school rather than attend one for idols?" Fuuto ran his hand through Ema's hair and without waiting for her response said, "So I could finally monopolize time with you without our other brothers around. They're always in the way and it's so annoying. True, I still have to deal with Yusuke, but he barely counts."

Ema reached up and grabbed Fuuto's hand, pulling it away from her. "I know you like to pretend to flirt with me, Fuuto, but don't you think that this is taking it a little far?"

"Pretend?" Fuuto mocked, raising his eyebrows. "Come on, Ema, not even you can be this blind. I'm not pretending at all. Isn't it obvious that I don't think of you as a sister? I never have." Fuuto broke the grip that Ema had on his hand, grabbing her wrist and pinning it against the wall. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "I see you very much as a woman."

Ema's eyes widened in panic as Fuuto started lowering his head towards hers and she used her free arm to push against Fuuto's chest. "That's not how I see you, Fuuto-kun."

"As a woman? I should hope not."

Ema flushed and shook her head. "Regardless of how you see me, I see you as my younger brother." Part of Ema was willing to admit that she'd known Fuuto hadn't seen her as a sister, though she hadn't realized he felt like _this_ towards her. When Fuuto finally accepted Ema's presence at home and they'd started getting closer, she thought that Fuuto viewed her as a trusted friend he could talk to and share his dreams with.

Fuuto sighed. "Why do you have to go and make things so difficult? You know how little family means to me. I don't care about spending 'quality time' together or about supporting our brothers. Obviously I wouldn't think about our relationship in the same way you were."

"Maybe not," Ema said keeping her hand against Fuuto's chest, "but that doesn't change how I feel about you."

Giving another sigh, Fuuto let go of Ema's hand and waist and stepped back. "Fine," he caved. "I'll back off. For now." But only so Ema could get used to the idea of not thinking of him as a little brother. He was pretty sure that he'd made the first move on Ema out of his brothers (thanks to Masaomi warning everyone off of her until she graduated), meaning that he would be the one on Ema's mind.

~.~

"So, what do you think?" Sasakura asked, nervously scratching the back of us head. "I think that it would be a lot of fun and Mahoko-chan said that she was coming too." He glanced over at the red head staring balefully at him. "You're invited too, Yusuke-kun."

Ema turned around to look at Yusuke. "What do you think, Yusuke-kun? I think it sounds like fun." Sasakura and a bunch of their friends wanted to go on a group date that Friday to the opening of a new arcade/amusement park and Sasakura had asked Ema to be his date. "Natsume-kun's company did a lot of work for the arcade part of the park. I've wanted to check it out ever since Natsume-kun told me about it."

Yusuke hardly wanted to agree to a group date where he wasn't Ema's date, but she looked so excited and it seemed like she wasn't going to agree to go if Yusuke didn't say he would go too. "Yeah, sure," he agreed unenthusiastically. "Could be fun."

"I guess that means I'll be partnered with Yusuke-kun for the rides," Mahoko said with a sigh, appearing behind Yusuke.

"What do you mean 'I guess'?" Yusuke demanded. "If you don't want to ride with me, then don't ride with me."

"No, no, it's fine," Mahoko waved off. "Besides, we have to partner up because everyone else going already has their date. If you and I don't go together, we'll both have to find other dates."

"Fine," Yusuke agreed. "But we'll still have to get Kyo-nii's and Mao-nii's permission to go," he reminded Ema. Yusuke well remembered the reactions of his brothers when Ema brought Sasakura home to work on a project together. How would they react to her going on a date with him? While he wanted Ema to be able to go and have a good time, part of him also hoped that Masaomi and Ukyo would refuse to let Ema go with Sasakura. Then she could just go to the park with him instead.

~.~

"Mahoko-chan, Sasakura-kun, and some of our other friends want to go to the opening of the new gamer themed amusement park that opens this weekend," Ema told Ukyo as they made dinner that evening. "Is it okay if Yusuke-kun and I go?"

"It's a group date," Yusuke droned. He was sitting at the counter, his elbow propped on the counter with his head resting on his hand as he watched Ukyo carefully.

"A group date?" Ukyo asked, looking between Ema and Yusuke. "Would you two be going together?"

"Uh, no," Ema said a little awkwardly. "Sasakura-kun asked me to go with him. He came to our house two years ago when he and I were working on a project together. Do you remember?"

Did Ukyo remember the only male Ema had ever brought home? Of course he did, and he didn't like that Ema was now talking about going on a date with said male, group date or not. When Masaomi warned their brothers to back off of romancing Ema (including Subaru and Fuuto once they got home from the cruise) at least until she graduated from high school, Ukyo had agreed with him.

Family was very important to Ema and realizing that some of her stepbrothers harbored romantic feelings for her wouldn't be easy for her. However, when Ukyo agreed to it, he hadn't thought about Ema dating someone from school. Couldn't they have also made a rule that Ema wasn't allowed to date until after she graduated from high school as part of that agreement? He knew that thought was ridiculous and selfish, but it was how he felt.

"I'm not sure how I feel about you going on a date with a guy that I don't know," Ukyo settled on saying.

"It's not like a real date," Ema said as she washed potatoes. "It's more just our school friends going together. We're only pairing up because only two people can be together on the rides. Besides, Yusuke-kun will be there, so you don't have to worry about me. It's sweet for you to be concerned, though."

Ukyo turned his gaze back to Yusuke, who didn't seem nearly as excited as Ema about all this. Unfortunately, Ema had a point. With Yusuke going along, Ukyo didn't have a real reason to object to Ema going. Not unless he wanted to actually try enforcing a rule that Ema wasn't allowed to date until graduation. He didn't think that Masaomi would agree with that.

"Okay," he agreed reluctantly. "But I want the two of you to stick together. And I don't want you out too late. Be back here by eleven."

"Isn't that kind of early?" Ema asked, looking to Yusuke for support. If them going to the amusement park hadn't been a group date with Ema going with another guy, Yusuke would absolutely agree with Ema, but since it was technically a date, he wasn't interested in prolonging the event.

"Most bad things happen late at night," Ukyo argued, not looking at Ema as he stirred the soup. "I'm just concerned for your safety. If you'd rather wait, we can go as a family and stay later."

"No, I'm sure it will be okay," Ema said, disappointed. "Yusuke-kun and I will just leave early."

~.~

Tsubaki was just about to leave work on Friday when he received a text from Masaomi.

What do you want for dinner?

Tsubaki looked at the text in confusion and texted back:

Shouldn't it be Ema or Ukyo asking that?

Ema's out with some friends tongiht and Ukyo has to work late.

Tsubaki pouted that Ema wouldn't be home that night, but texted back that he wanted Chinese.

When he arrived home, Wataru was alone in the living room.

"Hey Otouto-kun," Tsubaki greeted. "Masaomi still not back yet?"

"No," Wataru said, not looking away from the TV. "He should be back soon, though."

Tsubaki realized that his youngest brother looked unhappy. "What's up, kid?" Tsubaki asked, plopping down next to Wataru on the couch. "Did you have a rough day?"

"No," Wataru said, finally turning away from the TV to look at Tsubaki. "But is Onee-chan going to leave us?"

"Leave us?" Tsubaki laughed. "Because she's out with friends? I know that we're spoiled by Ema usually staying home, but I'm sure she's not going to suddenly decide she likes her friends better and leave home."

"But she's not out with friends," Wataru argued. "Kyo-nii said that she and Yusuke-kun are out on a group date."

Tsubaki froze, not wanting to believe what Wataru was saying. "What do you mean Ema's on a date? Do you mean that she and Yusuke went out together with some of their friends?"

Wataru shook his head. "I heard Mao-nii and Kyo-nii talking about it yesterday. Ema's going with a guy from school. Yusuke-kun is there too, but he's not Ema's date." Wataru moped and looked down at the ground, kicking his feet against the couch. "I wish that I was old enough to be Onee-chan's date. Stupid Yusuke-kun. If I went to school with Onee-chan, I wouldn't let other guys get close to her."

Tsubaki jumped to his feet when the elevator opened to reveal Masaomi. Tsubaki clenched his fists and stalked towards him, feeling sick inside. "You lied to me," he accused. "You told me that Ema was out with friends, not that she was out on a date."

Masaomi sighed when he saw the look on Tsubaki's face. "I didn't tell you the truth because I knew you would react like this," Masaomi said. "It's just a date with a bunch of friends, Tsubaki, not Ema going out with a crush. Ema herself told Ukyo that it wasn't like a real date. I'm sure Ema just wanted to spend some time with her friends at the new amusement park, that's all."

"That's all?" Tsubaki asked, following Masaomi as he went to the table and started setting out the take-out he'd gotten. "Ema is out with a _boy_ that we don't know and 'that's all' you say?"

"She's with the boy who was her project partner a few years ago, Sasakura-kun. And Yusuke is with her, so it's not like she's all alone."

Tsubaki's jealousy flamed even hotter when Masaomi mentioned Sasakura. He knew that stupid boy had a thing for Ema.

~.~

When Azusa got home from work, Tsubaki spoke with him about Ema's date and after dinner, Tsubaki made Wataru leave so that it was just Masaomi, Subaru, and the twins.

"Azusa and I have something we need to say to you, Masaomi," Tsubaki declared. "We know that you're heart was in the right place when you asked us not to tell Ema about our feelings for her until after she graduated from high school, but neither of us are willing to stand back and let some other guy take her. We just wanted to let you know that we're not going to follow the agreement you wanted to set-up between us all."

Subaru stared at Tsubaki in shock. Masaomi had talked with Subaru about waiting to tell Ema how he felt about her, but he hadn't realized that Masaomi had the same conversation his other brothers. He hadn't even known that any of his brothers felt the same way about Ema as he did. "If they're not going to wait for Ema to graduate, than neither am I," Subaru said, unwilling to lose out to them. "And what do you mean about losing Ema to another man? I thought that she was out with friends tonight. And isn't Yusuke-kun with her?"

"Sure she's out with friends," Tsubaki agreed, staring at Masaomi. "They just happen to be on a group date, something that Masaomi decided not to tell us."

Masaomi stared down at his empty plate, wishing that this night had gone very differently. Maybe he should have talked to Ema about not going on the group date, but if she found someone that she liked, he didn't want to discourage her from pursuing the relationship. Ema had a right to fall in love with whoever she wanted to. However, it looked like the consequences from Masaomi letting Ema go tonight might outweigh any benefits.

~.~

Ema and Yusuke got home just after eleven that night, texting Ukyo that they had made it home. Ema had a lot of fun and was still disappointed that she and Yusuke had to leave early. She thought that Ukyo was being a little ridiculous, but since he never punished Ema for staying up all night playing video games even when it was a school night, she didn't feel she had much room to complain. Then again, maybe Ukyo didn't know about that since they slept on different floors.

"Good night, Ema," Yusuke said when they reached the third floor, where his room was.

"Good night, Yusuke-kun," Ema said, continuing on to the fourth floor. To her surprise, Tsubaki sat on the floor outside her room, looking upset.

"Tsubaki-kun?" She said softly, not wanting to startle him. "Is something wrong?"

Tsubaki got to his feet and Ema stopped a foot away from him, looking into his face with concern.

Tsubaki smiled sadly at Ema. "You know that I always wanted a little sister. I was ecstatic when I learned about you and when you came to join our family. I've always adored you as my little sister, but…I just can't think of you that way anymore."

"What do you mean?" Ema asked, her brow crinkling in concern and hurt. "I don't understand, Tsubaki-kun."

One of Tsubaki's arms wrapped around Ema's waist and he pulled her to him, his other hand went to cradle the back of her head. "I love you, Ema," he whispered. "As a man, not as your brother. And I don't want anyone else to have you." Then he lowered his head and kissed her.

 **A/N:** Yes! Finally, a cliffhanger! Usually I have cliffhanger's sprinkled throughout my stories, but the way I've been writing this fic there's been no place for one. Aren't you all glad I'll update in a couple days


	21. Fallout

**Chapter 21: Fallout**

Tsubaki tightened his arm around Ema's waist, pulling her closer and burying his other hand in her hair.

Ema gripped the sleeves of Tsubaki's jacket, unable to think clearly. The moment Tsubaki's lips touched hers, Ema's mind went blank. She didn't know what to think or feel, or what she should do. She'd never been kissed before and she didn't expect it to feel like _this._

Tsubaki turned them so that Ema's back was to her door and backed her up to it, pushing himself against her. He lifted his head for a moment to breathe and Ema let out a soft gasp, then Tsubaki lowered his head again. The hand in her hair moved down to brush against her neck and Ema shivered at the touch. Her mind flashed to a few weeks ago when Fuuto tried to kiss her (thankfully, he was on tour and she hadn't seen him much since then). She'd immediately pushed him away, but he had been cocky and flirty. Tsubaki had seemed sad and desperate tonight, and it threw her off guard when he told her that he was in love with her. Still, remembering that night with Fuuto helped Ema recall her strength from then and she moved her hands from Tsubaki's arms to his chest and pushed him back a few inches.

Tsubaki looked down at Ema with heavy-lidded eyes as they both breathed heavy. Ema could feel that her face was flushed red and she didn't know what to say.

Tsubaki looked sad as he cupped Ema's face with one hand, keeping the other around her waist. "I can't be your brother anymore, Ema. I didn't mean for my feelings for you to change like this, but they did. I am sorry for springing it on you like this, but when I heard that you were on a date tonight, I lost all control."

"I was just out with friends," Ema said in surprise, wishing that Tsubaki would give her more space so she could think more clearly. "There wasn't anything romantic about tonight. We all went out together because we wanted to go to the opening of the new amusement park. If I was dating, I would have told all of you. That's not something I would keep from my family."

Tsubaki shook his head as he rubbed his thumb across Ema's cheek, giving a sad laugh. "You're obviously not very skilled at telling when a guy is in love with you, so you have no idea what your date was thinking tonight. He might have a very different perspective of it from you."

Ema blinked in surprise, wondering if Tsubaki could be right. She thought that she and Sasakura were just friends, but she also thought that Tsubaki saw her as his little sister.

"Are you angry?" Tsubaki asked.

"I don't know," Ema admitted, still trying not to be distracted by the feel of Tsubaki so close to her. She'd been close to him plenty of times. Why did it suddenly have to feel different? "You're my family, and I thought you felt the same way about me."

"I did," Tsubaki said, pulling Ema closer to him again. "You are one of the most important people in my life, whether I think of you as my sister or as a woman." He stared down into her face for a moment before finally letting her go and stepping back. "I'd better go to my room or I might start kissing you again. I didn't intend to pounce on you like that, but I am serious about my feelings for you, Ema. I want you to think about what I said."

~.~

Ema felt dazed and distracted on Saturday. She was grateful that Tsubaki and Azusa had an event to promote a game they were voicing that day. She didn't want to run into him until she thought of something to say to him, but she was sure that was impossible. She was too blown away by Tsubaki's confession to come up with any sort of an answer soon. At least, not one other than asking him to just go back to thinking of her as his little sister, which she didn't think would go over well.

As much as Ema wanted to, she didn't have the right to simply ignore Tsubaki's feelings and pretend like they weren't there. On the other hand, she had no idea how to process this information. She hadn't really been thinking about dating and she certainly hadn't considered any of her stepbrothers as potential boyfriends. She thought that all of them were amazing and any girl would be incredibly lucky to end up with one of them, but they were her family. At least, they were supposed to be.

"Ema?" A quiet voice asked.

Ema jumped and turned to see Subaru, looking at her nervously. She was sitting by the tree in the center of their courtyard and hadn't noticed him come up. "Yes, Subaru-kun?"

"Are you okay?" He asked. "You seemed pretty deep in thought."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ema said, nervously brushing hair away from her face and looking at the ground rather than at Subaru, as though if Subaru looked into her eyes he'd be able to tell that Tsubaki had confessed to being in love with her last night.

"That's good," Subaru said, shifting his feet awkwardly. "Anyway, I was wondering if you would come to my game tonight."

Ema looked up at Subaru in surprise, then immediately felt reluctant to go. She had so much to think about with Tsubaki and Fuuto. She had avoided thinking about what Fuuto said to her, trying to brush it off as Fuuto's new way of teasing her or something like that, which was entirely possible given Fuuto and his personality, but now that Tsubaki had also admitted to thinking of Ema as a woman, she had to wonder if she'd been doing something wrong as a sister. And her mind kept flashing back to Tsubaki's kiss from last night. She didn't want any of her brothers to see her face turn red and wonder why.

When Subaru saw Ema's reluctance, he said, "Please, Ema? It's really important to me that you come tonight. I want to talk to you about something after the game."

"Okay," Ema agreed quietly. Maybe it would be good for her to get out of the house and focus on something else.

~.~

Subaru played amazingly, as usual. Ema had to admit that it was exciting to see him dominate the court and work so well with his teammates. Basketball was his passion and his performance showed that.

After the game, Ema waited on a bench outside for Subaru since he said he had something he wanted to tell her, though she couldn't imagine what he wanted to talk to her about or why he wanted to do it after a basketball game. She knew that he had to meet with his team after every game, but she hoped he'd come soon. She tried to focus on what she and Ukyo were making for dinner that night rather than on Tsubaki or Fuuto.

Finally, Ema saw a dark-haired figure striding towards her. Ema stood up to greet Subaru and was surprised to see him looking nervous and fidgety. "You played really well today, Subaru-kun," she complimented. Maybe bringing up basketball would help calm him.

"Thanks," Subaru said before lapsing into silence.

"Is there something—" Ema started to say before Subaru interrupted her. "I need you," he burst out, and then his face turned red. "I mean I—I care about you, Ema. A lot. I know that I've become a better player because of your support and because I wanted to become better to impress you. I—I want to be your boyfriend."

Ema stared up at Subaru, stunned. There were candid shows like this, weren't there? Where unbelievable things happened to the victim being filmed and only the audience and the other actors knew the truth. She almost felt like that was happening here. How could three of her stepbrothers confess to having feelings for her within two months of each other? Although Fuuto hadn't so much confessed as said that he wanted Ema, which wasn't quite the same thing.

"I don't know what to say, Subaru-kun," Ema said helplessly, not understanding at all what was going on here. At what point had some of her stepbrothers stopped looking at her as a sister? And why?

"I've cared about you for a long time," Subaru said. "I just didn't know how to tell you. I understand if you need time to think about it."

~.~

A short while after Subaru's confession, the family received an email from Miwa. She was being awarded Business Woman of the Year. The award ceremony was being held in Tokyo and she wanted every one of her children who could attend to be there. Miwa had also taken the liberty of buying Ema a dress to wear to the event, sending a letter that it was so beautiful she simply couldn't resist and was looking forward to seeing Ema wear it.

Since the event was that night, Ema currently had the dress laid out on her bed and was staring at it in trepidation. The dress was gorgeous, no doubt, but it was also…grown-up. A network of black lace covered a deep blue dress with beads on the bodice. It would have felt weird to wear such a grown-up dress regardless, but in light of Tsubaki's, Fuuto's, and Subaru's confessions…the idea of wearing the dress made her a little nervous. But she didn't want to refuse to wear a gift from her stepmother, especially not one that looked so expensive.

Sighing, Ema put the dress on, then she blushed and put a hand to the top of her bare chest. The front of the dress had a wide, low neck and the sheer sleeves barely touched her shoulders. The back of the dress dipped lower than the front, exposing the top of Ema's back.

She jumped when a knock came to the door. "Yes?" Ema called, her voice squeaking.

"It's Louis," came the answer. "Are you ready for me to do your hair?"

Ema hesitantly opened the door and Louis smiled down at her. "Look lovely, Em-chan."

"I don't know that it suits me," Ema confessed, moving back to let Louis in before shutting the door behind him. "It's too grown up for me."

"I don't think so," Louis disagreed. "You're a young woman now, Em-chan. I know that it's a hard transition to go from child to teen to adult, but I think that it suits you just fine."

Ema sat down in a chair, holding still for the next hour as Louis did her hair and make-up. "There, all done," Louis said, standing back to admire his work. "Take a look and let me know what you think, Em-chan."

Despite Louis' amazing talents, Ema didn't want to look. She was sure she'd find a young girl looking like she was playing dress-up with her mother's clothes if she looked in the mirror. Still, Ema didn't want to hurt Louis' feelings, so she turned and looked. Ema gasped at what she saw. Definitely not a little girl wearing her mother's clothes. She looked like a woman. Mature and poised. Lois had done her hair in a complicated braided bun. "You really are amazing, Louie-nii," Ema complimented. "I don't even look like me."

"No way," Louis said, appearing behind Ema in the mirror and gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "You're always beautiful, Em-chan. I just highlighted what's already there." He gave her shoulders a pat and said, "Well, I better go change. See you in a few minutes."

"Right," Ema murmured absent-mindedly before putting on the choker and the blue heels that went with the dress. The heels matched perfectly, but Ema didn't have much practice walking in heels and hoped she wouldn't trip.

Ema went to the living room to wait and found Azusa already there wearing a black suit with a blue tie. His eyes widened when he saw Ema. He opened and closed his mouth once before saying, "You look amazing." His heart raced as Ema walked towards him and he thought that he'd never seen anyone look so beautiful in his entire life.

"Thanks," Ema said when she reached Azusa, looking down with a blush on her face. "You look really good to."

Unable to help himself, Azusa reached out and lightly ran his fingers across the exposed skin of Ema's back. "Did Mom get this dress for you?" Azusa asked.

Ema shivered at Azusa's touch, her eyes shooting up to his in surprise. Tsubaki and Azusa shared so many things. Was it possible that they shared the same taste in women too? The urge to ask almost got the better of her, but she shoved it down. It was probably arrogant and conceited to assume that Azusa liked her just because Tsubaki did, and Ema already had enough problems without going searching for more. "Yes," Ema finally answered Azusa. "I think that she got it in Russia."

Azusa wished he could hide Ema from the sight of his brothers. He didn't want them seeing her like this. _He_ could barely keep his hands off her (well, technically he _hadn't,_ he supposed). What were all of them going to do?

 **A/N:** To be continued…


	22. Omake!

**A/N:** This chapter is for fun (I needed a break from the plot) and is an insight into the fantasies of some of the Asahina brothers. I already told two readers I was thinking about doing this, so I figured I should actually do it.

 **Omake: The Asahina brothers' secret thoughts on their cruise**

 _Tsubaki_

The first night on the cruise, Tsubaki lay on his bed thinking about his decision to pretend to be Ema's boyfriend earlier. What if Ema had been hiding feelings for him rather than always seeing him as her older brother? Then that conversation might have gone very differently…

Ema cowered back from the group of guys surrounding her, obviously upset at their attention. Tsubaki shouldered his way through them, wrapping a protective arm around Ema's waist and pulling her to him. Ema looked up at Tsubaki in surprise, relief on her face as she placed her hands on his chest.

"Hey, who are you?" One of the punks demanded, looking Tsubaki up and down. "What right do you have to interfere?"

"What right?" Tsubaki asked, tightening his hold on Ema. "She's _mine._ You losers aren't even fit to look at her. Why don't you run along and leave my girlfriend alone."

The guys grumbled and looked upset, but left after casting one last glance at Ema.

Ema blushed as she stared at her hands on his chest. "Ema," Tsubaki said gently, lifting her chin to make her look him in the eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yes," Ema said, gratitude in her eyes as she looked at Tsubaki, then she looked away again, as though to hide the disappointment in her eyes. "You don't have to explain about calling me your girlfriend—I know you just did it to protect your little sister."

Tsubaki's chest tightened at the look in Ema's eyes. He wanted to take that look of disappointment away from her. "What if that's not it?" Tsubaki asked and Ema's eyes swung back to his in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Ema asked, looking cautious as she searched his eyes.

"I mean," Tsubaki began, moving his hand from her chin to stroke her hair, "that you are the most incredible woman I've ever met, Ema. I can't think of you as my little sister anymore. I've tried but…" He cut himself off and shook his head. "I want you by my side Ema, as my girlfriend. I can't accept anything less."

"Tsubaki," Ema gasped.

"I'm sorry," Tsubaki said, starting to turn away. "I understand if you're disappointed in me—"

"No!" Ema said, her hands bunching in Tsubaki's shirt to stop him from turning away. He looked at her in surprise to see her face flushed red. "I—I can't think of you as my brother either," she confessed. "All I can think about is you, Tsubaki-kun."

Tsubaki breathed a sigh of relief before smiling and cupping Ema's face with his hands. "Then is it okay if I do this?" He asked before lowering his head and kissing her. He heard Ema inhale sharply before the hands fisted in his shirt pulled him closer to her. Tsubaki made a sound of approval and Ema's hand moved up to curl around his neck.

Tsubaki pulled back and gazed down at Ema. She was adorably flushed and had a dazed look in her eyes as she blinked up at Tsubaki. Then she seemed to realize where they were and she hid her face in Tsubaki's chest. "Tsubaki-kun," she whispered. "We're on the top deck!"

Tsubaki chuckled. "Does that mean you'd rather we moved this to your room instead?" Ema's eyes widened and—

"Oye, Tsubaki!" Azusa called, throwing a pillow at his twin. "Have you seen Yusuke's sunglasses?"

"What?" Tsubaki demanded, ripping the pillow off him and sitting up in bed. He was irritated at his thoughts being interrupted.

"I asked if you've seen Yusuke's sunglasses. We can't find them and wanted to know if you took them. I called your name like three times."

"I was asleep," Tsubaki lied. "And I don't know where his stupid sunglasses are."

 _Azusa_

The second night of the cruise, Azusa kept running Ema's actions from earlier through his mind. Remembering what it felt like to have her arm wrapped around his waist and her hand on his chest. Just thinking about it made his heart pound and his skin flush. He was crushed when Ema said that she was following the same thing Tsubaki had done for her the previous day (which still made Azusa wonder just what liberties Tsubaki had taken in touching Ema), but what if that hadn't been the real reason behind Ema's actions? What if Ema had actually been jealous of the attention that Azusa was getting…

"We could show you a good time," the ringleader of the bikini brigade said as she pushed herself against Azusa. He tried to ease away from her, beyond uncomfortable with how close she was to him. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around his waist and a hand appeared on his chest. Azusa jumped and turned to see…Ema. His heart immediately started pounding and he wondered what she was doing, though to be honest, he wasn't sure he cared so long as she kept touching him.

"Sorry I took so long, Azusa-kun," Ema apologized. "I didn't mean to keep you waiting."

Azusa blinked down at Ema, having no idea what she was talking about, but more than happy to play along. "That's fine," he said, wrapping his arm around Ema. "I was worried that you might not feel up to coming out after last night." He leaned down to kiss the top of Ema's head, sliding a look at the women still around them. "We did have a _long_ night last night."

The ringleader's face flushed in anger as she fisted her hands and glared at Ema. The rest of the women grumbled about Azusa not mentioning that he had a girlfriend before all of them walked away.

"I'm sorry," Ema murmured, looking down at the deck and blushing.

"Why are you apologizing?" Azusa asked in surprise, covering Ema's hand on his chest with his own. "You saved me."

"I—I just saw all those women around you and I got mad," Ema confessed, looking shyly up at Azusa. "I don't know what came over me…I just wanted to make them all leave."

"What are you saying?" Azusa asked, pulling Ema into the shadow of some stairs. "That you were jealous?"

Ema looked down at the deck again and nodded. Azusa smiled, tilting Ema's chin up until she looked at him again. "And you think I'd react any differently if I saw a bunch of guys around you?" Ema's eyes widened in surprise. "I'd go crazy with jealousy if I saw another guy touching you," Azusa confessed.

"You would?" Ema asked, her eyes lighting up happily.

Azusa nodded as he ran his hands up Ema's bare back. She shivered at the touch and stepped closer to him. "Only _I_ am allowed to touch you," he declared before kissing her. Ema's arms wrapped around his neck and he pulled her closer to him, intoxicated by the feel of them touching skin to skin.

Azusa tilted his head, his lips encouraging Ema to open her mouth. Ema complied, her nails digging into his neck with the barest of pressure. Then Ema slowly pulled away. "Azusa-kun, we-we're only in our swimsuits," Ema stuttered, her face flushed red.

"Mmm, yes we are," Azusa agreed, moving one hand from Ema's back to run it lightly along her bare thigh. "Doesn't that just make it more fun?"

Ema's eyes widened and her blush deepened before her eyes slid closed and she lifted her face—

"What do you think they'll serve for dessert tomorrow?" Tsubaki's voice asked, breaking through Azusa's fantasy.

"What?" Azusa asked.

"Dessert. Tomorrow. I wonder what it will be. Tonight's was _awesome._ "

"I'm sure it will be great," Azusa said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice as he rolled over and closed his eyes again, trying to recapture the image he had before Tsubaki interrupted him.

 _Ukyo_

Ukyo couldn't help but be irritated as he went to bed. How was he supposed to keep his calm with other men ogling the woman he loved in a bikini? They should have taken a skiing vacation instead of going on a cruise. The only way this vacation could redeem itself would be if it provided Ukyo with an opportunity to get closer to Ema…

"Ukyo-kun?" Ema asked tentatively, coming up to him with a delicate blush on her face.

"Yes, Ema-chan, what is it?" Ukyo asked, setting his book down on his lounge chair.

"Well…" Ema looked down at the deck nervously, her blush deepening as she looked back up at Ukyo from underneath her eyelashes. "I was wondering if you would help me put sunscreen on."

Ukyo's throat went dry at the thought of touching Ema while she was dressed in a bikini, but he reminded himself that Ema was asking him as her brother, not as anything else. He had to clear his throat before he could say, "Of course. Sit down right here." He moved his legs to make room for Ema, holding his hand out for the sunscreen bottle.

Ema handed the bottle over, a grateful look on her face. She turned and sat, giving her back to Ukyo.

Ukyo felt the back of his neck heating up as he poured sunscreen into his hands. He had to take a deep breath to steady himself before reaching forward and gently rubbing the lotion onto Ema's shoulders.

Ema jumped at the touch and turned just enough that Ukyo could see the light blush on her cheeks. "Sorry," she murmured quietly, "I'm a bit sensitive."

"That's fine," Ukyo said, his voice unconsciously deepening. He tried to make his touch lighter as he moved down from her shoulders, but Ema still shivered occasionally at his touch. Ukyo idly thought to himself that he should probably do this as quickly as possible, but he couldn't stop himself from slowing down instead.

He rubbed harder as he moved to Ema's lower back. Ema gasped, then made a sound like she was stifling a moan. Ukyo's face flamed red as he paused. Was it possible that Ema thought of him as something other than a stepbrother? That she'd asked for _his_ help over his brothers because of these feelings? And that she was struggling not just because she was sensitive, but because it was _him_ touching her?

Ukyo moved closer to Ema as he finished rubbing the lotion into her lower back, coming close enough that his breath brushed the back of her neck. He was paying close attention and smiled when Ema's breath hitched. Slowly, Ukyo bent down until his lips brushed where Ema's shoulder met her neck. Ema gave a small gasp. "Ukyo," she breathed.

Ukyo took that as an invitation, pressing his lips harder against the back of Ema's neck and kissing down the top of her spine. The quiet, delicate moans Ema made as Ukyo did this made him want her more. He gave her one last kiss right above the strap of the top of her bikini before wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her against him. Ema turned partially, tangling one hand in Ukyo's hair as she arched her back to bring her lips closer to—

"The back of your neck is really red," Kaname announced in surprise as he walked into their room. "Did you get sunburned today?"

"It's just the lighting in the room," Ukyo scowled, covering the back of his neck with a hand and turning his head so that Kaname wouldn't see how red his face was. His brothers had the _worst_ timing.

 _Kaname_

Kaname lay in bed, berating himself for almost losing control that day. He'd need to make sure that he didn't put himself into tempting situations like that in the future. He didn't want to think about what could have happened if he'd kissed Ema. He could have lost her trust. But still, there wasn't any harm in him just imagining a different outcome to such a situation…

Kaname stared down at Ema while they were in the ocean, Ema on the ground with him straddling her. He felt breathless at the thought of wanting to kiss her. The laughter from their play left Ema's eyes as she stared up at his serious eyes. "Kaname," she whispered. That was all the encouragement Kaname needed. He wrapped one hand around the back of Ema's head, partially pulling her from the water, before sealing her lips with his.

He pulled back to check Ema's expression and make sure this was okay with her. She gazed up at him in wonderment. "You know," he whispered, speaking so close to Ema that his breath brushed her lips as he maintained eye contact with her, "there are other fun things a man and woman could be doing at a time like this."

Ema blushed as she stared up at him and Kaname wondered what she would do, then she whispered, "Show me."

Kaname wrapped his arms around Ema and flipped them, so that he was sitting up with Ema straddling him. Ema gasped at the quick movement and Kaname ran his hands up her thighs, her waist, her back, until he was cupping her shoulders. He bent down and kissed her collarbone before kissing his way up her neck.

Ema tangled her hands in his hair as she tilted her head back to give him better access. "K-Kaname," she moaned.

He kissed his way back down her throat, gently biting her collarbone before swirling his tongue against her neck, tasting the saltwater on her skin. Ema shivered against him and he—

"Whoo! Best game of trivia ever!" Yusuke announced as he threw open the door to their room. "I totally beat Tsubaki!"

Kaname let out an irritated growl and threw a pillow at Yusuke's face.

"Hey!" Yusuke exclaimed. "What was that for? Don't blame me just because you decided to go to bed early. You could have stayed out and played with us rather than going to bed like an old man."

"Just go to bed," Kaname commanded.

 **A/N:** I hope you all enjoyed! Chapter 22 will be posted sometime tomorrow.


	23. Award Ceremony

**Chapter 22: Award Ceremony**

The Asahina family took up so much space that they needed two tables at the award ceremony. Miwa and Rinataro sat near the front since Miwa would have to go on stage to receive the award. None of the siblings had had a chance to talk with either Miwa or Rintaro, but there would be time after the ceremony when the room opened up for dancing.

Kaname sat beside Ema and decided to limit himself to only one drink tonight, something he rarely did. If he drank any more than that he was afraid he'd do something stupid in regards to his all too alluring stepsister. If Ema was anyone other than his stepsister, he'd do everything in his power to seduce her. A small part of him wished he was willing to take the plunge and try, but he knew that he could never forgive himself if he ever hurt Ema.

Also at Ema's table, Ukyo struggled to pay attention to what the host of the ceremony was saying rather than letting his eyes slide back to Ema. Part of him wished that he was seated at the other table so that he could pay better attention, but that would mean that one of his other brothers would be sitting here ogling Ema instead, and that was the last thing he wanted. His eyes slid back to Ema and he mentally berated himself. How was any man supposed to pay attention with a woman like Ema dressed like that?

Ukyo looked at his other brothers around the table. Louis, Masaomi, Wataru, and Kaname all seemed to be paying attention to the host, though Kaname's fingers were drumming on the table top, as though he were agitated. He glanced at the next table over to see Tsubaki and Azusa casting irritated looks over at their table, though the twins had no reason to complain since none of them were even talking to Ema. Yusuke and Subaru kept casting furtive glances in Ema's direction, as though hoping no one would notice. Fuuto didn't seem to be paying attention at all, though he wasn't looking at Ema either, and neither Natsume nor Iori had come tonight and in Hikaru's words, he refused to fly all the way back to Japan to support a woman who had never supported him with her physical presence.

When Miwa went up to get her award, Tsubaki finally took his eyes away from Ema to look at the stage and clap. It was cool that his mom was getting this award, really it was…but Tsubaki found himself unable to focus on anything other than Ema. He didn't want anyone else to dance with her. He knew that he couldn't prevent it from happening, but he also knew that the sight of it would drive him crazy.

When dinner and the award part were finally over, Tsubaki jumped to his feet and turned to look for Ema, only to find her making a beeline for the front of the room with Masaomi and Wataru behind her. Tsubaki sighed and sat back down. Of course Ema would congratulate Miwa first thing. She wouldn't be Ema if she didn't.

"Congratulations, Mom," Ema said, hugging Miwa. "You work so hard and have grown your company so much, you definitely deserve this award."

"Thanks you, Ema-chan," Miwa said, holding Ema tightly. "I'm so glad that most of you were able to make it tonight." She pulled back and held Ema by the shoulders as she looked her stepdaughter over. "You look so beautiful. I knew this dress would suit you."

"She looks like a woman," Rintaro said, staring at his daughter in dismay.

Miwa put a hand to her lips and giggled. "Ema-chan _is_ a woman, Rin-kun. She's seventeen now. Next year she'll be in college."

"I know, but—" Rintaro stared at Ema in disbelief, wondering when all this had happened. She couldn't be a woman, could she? That meant she was old enough to date. Rintaro pushed that thought away, unwilling to deal with that at the moment. Tonight was about celebrating his wife's award.

Masaomi and Wataru moved forward to congratulate Miwa as music started playing and tables were moved away from the dance floor.

Ema felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Tsubaki. "Will you dance with me, Ema?" The music would be boring and mostly classical for a formal ceremony like this, but boring and classical usually meant close dancing, which Tsubaki was more than happy to accept.

Ema hesitated before nodding. "Okay." Tsubaki took her hand and led her to the dance floor. He pulled her close, wrapping on arm around her waist and holding Ema's hand with the other.

"I don't have an answer to give you yet," Ema said, staring at the wall behind Tsubaki rather than at Tsubaki.

Tsubaki sighed and tightened his grip on Ema. "I want to say that that sucks, but I know that I don't have a right to complain." He looked down at Ema, wishing that she would look at him. "I know that it's weird for me to go from happily being your older stepbrother to wanting to be your boyfriend, but I can't lie to myself, Ema. That's not who I am."

Ema finally looked at Tsubaki. "I don't think that you should lie to yourself, but…it's complicated. I don't know when I'll have an answer, Tsubaki-kun."

Tsubaki looked frustrated, and as the song ended, he pulled Ema closer before leaning down and kissing cheek. Ema blushed as Tsubaki stepped back and Subaru came forward. Ema held her hand against her cheek, hoping that Subaru hadn't seen the kiss. As she danced with Subaru, Ema told him the same thing she'd told Tsubaki; that she didn't have an answer for him.

"I understand," Subaru said, looking melancholy but patient as he stared into Ema's eyes. "I told you my feelings for you without any warning. I'm sure it must have felt like it was coming out of nowhere to you. I'll wait until you have an answer for me."

"Thank you, Subaru," Ema said sincerely, grateful both for Subaru's attitude and the distance he kept between them as they danced.

When the second dance ended, Ema went to the side of the room to grab ice water. Despite her nearly bare shoulders, the dancing and the crowd of people made the room feel warm. Ema gazed out at the crowd as she sipped her water, grateful to be out of the melee for the moment. Her family problems made everything feel more stressful.

Ema had just set her glass down when a hand grabbed her arm and yanked. Ema gasped and stumbled into someone's chest. She looked up to find herself staring into the laughing eyes of Fuuto. "Good evening, _Nee-san_ ," Fuuto purred. "I can't believe that I've gone all evening without speaking to you."

Fuuto slipped his arm along her waist and held her tight against him. He leaned down by her ear, speaking so close to her that his lips brushed against her. "You look absolutely luscious tonight. Were you hoping to seduce someone?"

"Fuuto-kun," Ema chastised, blushing and trying to pull away from him. Fuuto proved too strong and he moved them across the dance floor to the rhythm of the music until they ended up on a balcony outside. Fuuto led Ema to the side of the balcony, away from the open doors, and pinned her against the railing with his body.

"You know, you shouldn't dress like this unless you're hoping to get a reaction," Fuuto commented, running his fingers along the skin right above the start of Ema's dress. Ema gasped, her face flushing red and goosebumps following in the wake of Fuuto's fingertips. Fuuto chuckled and kissed Ema's jawline and neck. "Speaking of reactions," he murmured against her neck, "shouldn't you _not_ be affected by this if you think of me as your little brother?"

Ema's eyes widened in shock, but before she could think of a response or Fuuto could do anything more, a dark voice said, "Let her go, Fuuto. Now."

Fuuto sighed and straightened up. "You're a real kill joy, you know that, Azusa?"

Azusa glared at Fuuto, his arms crossed over his chest. "Go back inside, Fuuto. You've caused more than enough trouble for one night."

Fuuto stuffed his hands in his pockets and sauntered back inside. As he passed Azusa he murmured, "Just because I'm not in front of her doesn't mean that she won't be thinking of me all night long. And don't bother thinking that you have a chance with her." Azusa hands curled into fists and he angrily watched his younger brother walk away. That brat seriously needed to learn some respect.

Turning his attention away from Fuuto, Azusa saw Ema still leaning against the railing, her arms crossed protectively across her chest and her gaze on the ground.

"Are you okay?" Azusa asked gently, moving to stand beside her.

"I think so," Ema said, giving a curt nod. Fuuto's last statement really bothered Ema. How was she supposed to feel about her stepbrothers kissing her? It wasn't like she was inviting the attention. It was true that Tsubaki's and Fuuto's attention didn't feel like that of family, but that had more to do with their intent than with Ema's feelings for them.

Azusa sighed and leaned his arms against the railing, wishing that he had gotten to Ema before Fuuto. Deciding he shouldn't put off what he wanted to say any longer, Azusa said, "I remember the first time we took you to the beach house, when we celebrated your birthday. I felt like I had no direction in life and like I was just adopting Tsubaki's life for my own. You made me feel like I wasn't, like it was okay for me to choose the same path as my brother and that it didn't mean that I was giving up on having my own future and my own dreams. And after that, when I was crushed after learning that Kya-chan only dated me because she wanted to use me, you made me feel like I was worth something."

While Azusa spoke, Ema lifted her eyes to look at him. He straightened up and took Ema's hands in his own. "You've always been there to support me, Ema, and I want to be there to support you in the same way. I—I love you, Ema. As a man, not as your brother."

Ema looked down at their hands and quietly said, "Others of our brothers have been confessing lately. I've always thought of the Asahinas as my family, so I don't know what to think."

"I know that they have," Azusa admitted, trying to swallow the lump of jealousy in his throat. He remembered the sight of Fuuto pushed against Ema and wondered if any of the others had tried anything with Ema yet. How many had confessed? He was sure that Tsubaki already had. His twin wasn't one to hold back. "I wanted to slowly let you know of my feelings for you, but when I saw my brothers moving forward, I was afraid that I might miss my opportunity to tell you. I had to let you know my feelings for you."

"Thank you for being honest," Ema said, remembering her conversation with Tsubaki earlier.

"I'll always try to be honest with you, Ema," Azusa said, bringing her hands up and kissing them. "I'll leave you alone now."

Ema was only alone for a few minutes before Louis joined her. "Em-chan?" He asked cautiously. "Are you okay? You've been out here for a while."

"Have I done something wrong?" Ema asked, her voice choked with tears. "I don't…I don't understand why this is happening. What did I do to make—" Ema cut herself off, too upset and confused to continue.

Louis sighed, immediately knowing what Ema was referring to. He'd have to be blind to not notice his brothers' feelings for their stepsister. Louis stepped closer and gathered Ema in his arms, patting her head. "All you've done is tried to be the best sister you could. I know that's what you've always wanted to be. All you can do is control your own actions. You can't control other people's reactions to your actions."

 **A/N:** Fuuto is surprisingly fun to write. I did not expect him to be one of my favorites. Maybe I just enjoy that he's more forceful since so many of the brothers hide their feelings instead (especially with the scenario that I've created).


	24. Escape

**A/N:** Thanks so much for all the reviews! I love hearing that my story makes readers fangirl

 **Chapter 23: Escape**

It was a few days after Christmas and Ema was holed up in her room rather than spending time with her family as she normally did this time of year. Usually, she adored this time of year because it meant most of the family was home together, but this year…Ema sighed and hugged her pillow as she sat cross-legged on her bed. She was bored and miserable, but she didn't want to go out there.

Everyone seemed like they were walking on pins and needles around Ema. Either because they were waiting for Ema to give them an answer to their feelings, or because they seemed worried about how Ema was reacting to this new pressure from her stepbrothers. The only two who seemed oblivious to the cause of the tension were Wataru and Yusuke, who couldn't figure out why everyone was acting strangely.

Finally, Ema come up with a brilliant idea of how to get out of the house. Grabbing her phone, Ema texted Natsume and asked if she could go over to his apartment. She received back a text informing her that he was still at work, but he was fine with Ema going over now. Ema responded with a thanks and a promise that she would make him dinner tonight. He answered that he was looking forward to it, but in no way wanted Ema to feel obligated to do so.

Ema hopped out of bed and slipped her shoes on before texting Kaname that she was going to Natsume's and then fleeing Sunrise Mansion.

Ema felt much better on the train ride over to Natsume's apartment. She'd been spending a lot more time by herself lately, trying to think things through, but she was tired of struggling to come up with a solution to her problem. No matter how much she thought about it, her mind just went around in circles, afraid that any choice she made might ruin their family dynamic. A part of her had hoped that everything would just go away if she ignored it, but she knew that was childish thinking.

~.~

When Natsume arrived home, Ema was just taking dinner out of the oven. "Welcome home, Natsume-kun," she said, smiling at him.

His heart thumped at her words. He really loved hearing those words from her. However, some of Natsume's pleasure at seeing Ema was taken by the fact that her smile looked a little forced, and she seemed tired.

"Is everything okay?" He asked as they sat down to eat. "Did anything happen at home?"

"No," Ema immediately denied, looking at the chicken in the middle of the table rather than at Natsume.

Azusa had already told Natsume that things were tense at home, though he hadn't elaborated on the reason. Natsume wondered if Ema's appearance here had anything to do with what was going on at home. "Are you sure?" Natsume asked. "I hope you know that you can talk to me about anything."

Ema nodded, looking down at the table. "I know," she said quietly.

Natsume watched Ema with concern and almost let it go since she seemed so reluctant to talk, but this was the first time that Ema had used the key that Natsume gave her to his apartment. For her to come here on her own and use it, Natsume feared that something was really wrong. However, he obviously wasn't going to get anything out of her right now, so he decided to set the matter aside for the moment.

After dinner, Natsume put in the game Zombie Apocalypse and the two battled hoards of the undead, fighting to protect the doctors searching for a cure. After a while, Natsume paused the screen, but continued to stare at it. Ema peeked over at him, waiting for him to say or do something. Finally, she tentatively asked, "Is something wrong, Natsume-kun?"

"Well, according to Azusa, something's been going on at home that has made things tense." He finally looked over at Ema, grateful that she was looking at him now rather than avoiding his gaze as she'd done during dinner. "You have always been there to comfort me when I've gone through hard times. I'd like to be able to do the same for you, but I can't if you won't talk to me."

Ema looked down at her controller, idly messing with the buttons. "Tsubaki, Azusa, Subaru, and Fuuto…they all told me that…I mean they…" Natsume stayed silent as Ema struggled, worried that if he interrupted it would make talking even harder for her. "They're all interested in me."

"Interested in you?" Natsume asked in confusion, then regretted his words when Ema's face flamed bright red and her gaze went back to the floor.

"As a girlfriend," she said quietly. "Or as a potential girlfriend, anyway. They all asked me out."

Natsume stared at Ema in shock and mentally went over the brothers that she'd listed. Tsubaki and Azusa. Fuuto. Subaru. All romantically interested in Ema.

"I've always viewed all the Asahina's as my precious family," Ema said, "and I don't know what to do. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but I'm supposed to be their sister."

Natsume could barely hear Ema's words as jealousy rose up inside him. How long had this been going on for? What all had he missed by living away for home? While he hadn't been paying attention, his brothers had been falling in love with Ema. They were close to her every single day while Natsume had no idea what was going on. Had any of them made a move on Ema other than telling Ema their feelings for her? Tsubaki almost certainly had. And Fuuto. Azusa and Subaru would be lower key in expressing their feelings. Subaru. How could Natsume have fallen for the same girl as his favorite brother? He remembered Subaru's sudden dip and then rise in performance on the basketball court a while ago and wondered if it had anything to do with Ema.

Looking at Ema's crestfallen face, Natsume pushed thoughts of Subaru and of his jealousy aside. Ema was obviously upset and he wanted to do something for her. But what? He wished he could offer Ema his apartment as a safe haven from all this, but doing so didn't feel right when he himself held romantic feelings for Ema. He tried to finds words to comfort Ema instead.

"I'm sorry, Ema," he began, "that things have turned out differently from what you expected and that it's hurting and confusing you, but please don't think badly of us Asahinas for it." He included himself in that. "Try to imagine that you have this one person in your life who has always offered their support to you and done so much for you. They're such an intrinsic part of your life and of who you've become that you can't imagine life without them, so you always want them by your side.

"In addition to that, relationships between brothers can sometimes be tricky as they get older and new things come in between them, even if the brothers have always been close. You saw that happen with Tsubaki and Azusa, but this person who has always supported you, steps in and helps you relate to each other. Helps you mediate and protect your relationship with one another. How would you feel about that person?"

"I guess I kind of see what you mean," Ema admitted, looking at Natsume again. "But for me, when you describe someone like that, I just think of family. Maybe if I had met any of them as friends and went to school with them, I might think differently, but that's not how things happened."

"Well, I'm afraid that guys are baser than girls," Natsume joked. "Where a girl might think family, guys think girlfriend. That's probably where part of the difference in thought comes from."

They sat in silence for a bit before Natsume asked, "What do you want to do now, Ema?"

Ema sighed and shrugged. "This whole time I've been doing nothing but running away because I don't know what to do. Even if I did fall in love with any of them I'd be afraid to look at them as a boyfriend because it might damage their relationship with their brothers. What would Tsubaki do if I chose Azusa? Or Azusa if I chose Tsubaki?"

Just hearing those words made Natsume cringe inside. He hated the thought of seeing Ema with any of his brothers. Or with any males, he should say. "Them being jealous of each while they fight for your affection might not be the best thing for them either," he pointed out. "I'm not trying to rush you or to guilt you into making a decision, or to push you in any particular direction, it's just something to think about. You shouldn't feel pressured to make a decision right away while you're feeling so confused. If you don't know your own feelings, then you might regret the decision that you make. If our brothers aren't willing to wait for your response, then they're not worth your time."

"Thanks, Natsume-kun," Ema said with a grateful smile. "Both for what you said and for letting me come here."

"Of course," Natsume answered sincerely, happy that even though Ema hadn't immediately been willing to tell him about her troubles, she'd still come to his apartment when she was upset.

"You're coming with us to the shrine for New Years, right?" Ema asked hopefully. "I think that things might be a little less awkward if you're there."

"Yes, I'll be there," Natsume promised. He wished that he could tell Ema about his feelings for her. It almost felt like lying to have this conversation with her without letting her know that he wanted her to, but now obviously wasn't the time to tell her. He hoped that the time when he could tell her would come soon.

~.~

On New Year's Eve, Subaru found Ema alone in the courtyard by the tree. "Hey Ema-chan, can I talk to you for a minute?" He asked.

"Sure," Ema said hesitatingly, half-thinking that she should stop agreeing to talk to people. Or, more specifically, her stepbrothers whenever they approached her like this. However, Subaru had already confessed his feelings to Ema and told her that he was willing to wait for her answer.

Subaru stuck his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground. "I've been scouted for a professional basketball team," he said.

Ema gasped. "That's wonderful, Subaru-kun!" She exclaimed, resisting the urge to throw her arms around him. She wanted to do something celebratory, but apparently she was good at sending the wrong message to her stepbrothers. "When do you start?"

"I haven't accepted the offer yet," Subaru admitted, still staring at the ground.

"Why not?" Ema asked in confusion. "Are you hoping to join a different team?"

Subaru shook his head. "The team that scouted me is in Kyushu. If I joined than I'd have to travel a lot and I don't want to leave you." He was afraid of what might happen while he was away. There were plenty of other guys after Ema, most of them living in the same house as her. What chance would Subaru have if he weren't even here?

"Subaru, this has always been your dream," Ema said gently. "I've seen the video of you as a little boy practicing basketball with Natsume-kun and saying that you're going to be a basketball star someday. You have worked so hard to get here. If you back away now, it will have all been for nothing." Ema made her voice firm. "You shouldn't be thinking about things like your relationship with me right now, you should be thinking about what's best for you. Besides, if something happened and we did end up in a relationship and our feelings for each other were real, the distance wouldn't matter. Just look at Mom and Dad. They both travel all the time, but they still really love each other. They make it work."

Subaru nodded, looking both gloomy and grateful. "I get what you mean." He hated the thought of leaving Ema, but it wouldn't impress her if he gave up on all his hard work and his dream now—and it wouldn't impress himself either. Her words almost reminded him of what Natsume would say in a situation like this. He tried to push that thought away, already dreading the thought of moving away from Ema when the time came.

~.~

As Ema was doing the dinner dishes with Wataru that night, Louis came home, looking more dazed and distracted than usual. "Welcome home, Louie-nii," Ema greeted. "There's some leftover dinner in the fridge for you."

Louis seemed not to hear Ema as he continued to trudge through the living room.

"Hey, Louis," Tsubaki called from the couch. "That makeover show you love is on. Do you want to watch it? My anime just finished, so I'm done with the TV."

Louis's eyes flickered over to Tsubaki, but he just shook his head.

"Did something happen today, Louis-kun?" Ema asked in concern. She'd never seen Louis turn down his favorite TV show before. He always tried to watch it if he was home when it was on.

Louis gave Ema a distracted smile. "I just had something weird happen at work today. Don't worry about me."

Despite Louis' words, Ema watched Louis until he went out of sight, heading down the hall. She wondered what could have happened at work that upset him so much and why he wasn't willing to tell her.

Louis continued his shuffling walk until he reached Kaname's room. Kaname had often been there for Louis in the past whenever Louis was struggling, and Kaname was the one Louis felt most comfortable talking about this with. He knocked and then entered when Kaname called for him to come in.

Kaname looked up from his book and seemed surprised to see Louis. "What's up Louie?" He asked, gesturing for Louis to sit down on his bed.

Louis sat down and just stared at his hands. Kaname watched him in concern, but stayed silent, waiting until Louis felt ready to talk.

"A man came into the salon today," Louis finally said. "He works for my father. My biological father."

Kaname's eyes widened in surprise and he leaned back against his headboard. He'd never heard anything about Louis' father before. He didn't know if Louis had any memories of his first family or how he felt about them

"He said that my dad wants me to come back to France to meet him. And I don't mean just for a small visit. My dad wants me to go to France and stay there so that he and I can get to know each other."

Louis fell back into silence and Kaname finally asked. "And how do you feel about that?"

Louis sighed and leaned back on his palms, tilting his head to stare at the ceiling. "I don't know. I want to say that he gave me up. He didn't want me, but I don't really know the story behind why I was put up for adoption. But…I can't deny that I am upset. And why come now? Well," Louis gave a bitter half-laugh, "why send someone now. He didn't even bother to come himself. Apparently, he owns some big company and couldn't find the time to come out here himself to ask the son he gave away to come get to know him."

Kaname's heart ached for his younger brother. It was so rare to see the easy-going man upset. At least, these days it was. Louis had more trouble when he was younger. Being the only adopted member of the family, Louis used to sometimes feel like he had trouble fitting in. Kaname remembered reaching out to Louis to try to make him feel more welcome and like he belonged. He'd always tried to be subtle about it so that Louis never thought Kaname was just taking pity on him, because he certainly hadn't been.

"And there's also Ema," Louis said, surprising Kaname. "I'd hate to leave her with things so crazy right now. I know how hard all this is for her and I want her to have someone who she feels like she can one hundred percent turn to if she needs to talk." He turned his head to look at Kaname. "Not that I think I'm the only one who can play that role for her, but I do worry."

Kaname almost felt ashamed at Louis' words. For a moment he thought he was going to hear Louis confess that he was in love with Ema and didn't want to leave Japan because of that, but Louis was only concerned about Ema's welfare. Both Louis and Masaomi had been the most concerned about Ema and the ones who did the most to try to shelter her. Kaname needed to learn from their example and be a better brother.

"That's sweet of you to think of Ema, but you should also think of yourself," Kaname advised Louis. "You never know what will happen in the future and this may end up being your only chance to meet your biological father. If this is something that you want to do, or that you think you need to do, I think that you should go. Like you said, there are others here who can be a shoulder for Ema to lean on if she needs it."


	25. New Year

**A/N:** Credit for the scene with the little kid goes to xsafyx

 **Chapter 24:** New Year

"Going to a shrine is the best way to start the new year," Tsubaki said cheerfully as the family walked through the shrine grounds. "And finding out your fortune for the year."

"I don't know why you find that exciting since you almost always get great misfortune," Natsume commented.

Tsubaki shrugged. "It never seems to affect me. Either I'm just that lucky, or my innate awesomeness is enough to overpower any misfortune. Last year was great and I have faith that this year will be even better." His eyes slid over to Ema, but her attention was caught on something else.

"I think that little boy is lost," Ema said, her brow wrinkled in concern. She was staring at a young boy who clutched a stuffed rabbit as he looked around searchingly. His lower lip started to tremble and Ema strode over to him. "Are you okay?" She asked, getting down on her knees so she was closer to eye level with him.

The boy shook his head and his eyes filled with tears. "I can't find my mom," he said in a wobbly voice.

"Where did you last see her?" Ema asked.

He shrugged, clutching his rabbit tighter. "She was holding my hand over there," he said, pointing at the entrance to the shrine. "And then—and then I wanted to see the doggy statue." He lowered his head and whispered, "I thought she was right behind me."

"It's okay," Ema said, gently wiping away his tears. "I'm sure your mom is just as worried about you as you are about her. Let's go back over to the gate and see if we can find her. What's your name?"

"Mizunagi."

Ema stood and held her hand out to Mizunagi. Wataru popped up on the boy's other side, startling him. "I got lost once too," Wataru assured him. "It was scary, but my brother Mao-nii was looking for me the whole time. He'd never let me stay lost and you're mom won't let you stay lost either."

"And you're not totally alone, Mizunagi-kun," Ema said, pointing at his rabbit. "You have your little friend with you." A small, tremulous smile appeared on his face and he grabbed Ema's hand.

Ukyo watched Ema, Mizunagi, and Wataru walk away, surprised by what he just saw. He'd thought of the kind of wife Ema would make plenty of times. How could he not with all the time they spent together doing domestic activities? But he hadn't thought a lot about what kind of mother she'd make. She always took care of the Asahina brothers, but that wasn't the same thing as nurturing a child. His heart warmed at the thought that Ema would make just as good a mother as she would a wife.

Kaname wondered how it was possible for Ema to be any more perfect than she already was. The only fault he found in her was that she kept her pain and her troubles to herself, despite him pushing her not to. He could easily picture her as a stay at home mom, lovingly cooking meals for her family and taking care of their children. _Her_ children, he quickly corrected, flushing over his mental blunder. He hadn't meant to think of the two of them as married.

"You seem quite good with kids," Azusa told Ema when she and Wataru returned, apparently having located Mizunagi's mother. "I'm kind of surprised since you don't have much experience with them."

Ema shrugged, looking self-conscious. "I just do what feels natural."

"Do you want to be a mother?" Natsume asked, and Subaru's eye shot to him, narrowing in suspicion as he wondered why Natsume would care.

Ema smiled and nodded.

"Do you want fourteen kids?" Tsubaki asked jokingly.

Ema laughed and shook her head. "I love having thirteen siblings, but I think that would be a bit much."

The atmosphere became awkward after Ema mentioned siblings. No one said anything until Tsubaki clapped his hands and declared, "All right, let's go see what our fortunes are for the year."

Since not everyone cared about finding out their fortune, only the triplets and Ema went.

Tsubaki sighed as he looked at his fortune. "Great misfortune again."

"Same here," Natsume said, staring down at the little paper.

"I got good fortune," Azusa said.

"I got great fortune this year," Ema informed them, wishing that it would come true and that everything would work itself out for the best this year.

"Maybe it's a sign that we should be together," Tsubaki joked. "Our fortunes will cancel each other out and together we'll have an average year."

"By that logic Ema should be with someone with a better result so that she'll have a great year," Azusa said in irritation.

"Are you saying I couldn't make her happy?" Tsubaki demanded.

Natsume watched his triplets in surprise before he caught the miserable look on Ema's face. No wonder she was so stressed and upset. His brothers were fighting and Ema undoubtedly blamed herself for it.

"Maybe we should rejoin the others," Natsume suggested. He put his arm around Ema and started leading her away, ignoring the glares from Azusa and Tsubaki.

"I hate it when they talk to each other like that," Ema said quietly.

The atmosphere didn't get much better when they rejoined the rest of the Asahinas. The others were less than pleased to see Natsume with his arm around Ema's shoulders. Natsume felt a flare of jealousy at seeing how many of his brothers were upset at the sight, but he removed his arm, not wanting to cause any more problems for Ema.

The family was discussing what they wanted to do for lunch when a voice called, "Ema-chan!"

Ema's eyes lit up at the sight of Masato. "Masato-kun!" She said. She and Masato had met up only a handful of times since the start of the school year. Both were busy and Ema had been hiding these meetings from her stepbrothers because she knew it would upset them. Masato felt like a breath of fresh air to Ema because he was completely uncomplicated. He just wanted to be her friend like he had been when they were little.

"Happy New Year," he said, giving her a hug.

Natsume felt like someone had punched him in the gut as he watched Ema with this guy he didn't know. Some of his brothers looked similarly confused, but the rest looked ticked off. "Who is that guy?" He asked no one in particular. "He's not her—" The word boyfriend was on the tip of his tongue when he thought that this group looked volatile enough without him throwing oil on the fire.

"Not what?" Subaru demanded, whipping his head around to glare at Natsume. "Not her boyfriend? What's it to you?"

"Nothing, Subaru," Natsume lied, shaking his head.

"Really?" Subaru demanded. "I saw you with your arm around Ema. You like her too, don't you?"

Natsume said nothing, not sure how to answer. His silence was answer enough and Subaru grabbed the lapels of his jacket, pulling him closer. "You stay away from her, you bastard! She doesn't need a quitter like you."

Subaru's yelling drew the attention of the others and Ema and Masato looked over in shock.

"Is everything okay?" Masato asked hesitantly. "Your stepbrothers seem…kind of on edge."

Ema stared at Natsume and Subaru in dismayed surprise, wondering what had set Subaru off. He'd said something about 'her'. They couldn't have been talking about Ema, could they? Was Subaru angry that Ema had gone to Natsume's apartment? He was still so angry at Natsume for quitting track, but Ema hadn't thought that her spending time with Natsume would somehow make Natsume's and Subaru's relationship even worse. Ema felt like she couldn't do anything right these days. And spending time with Masato right now would only cause more problems at home.

"There's just some family drama going on right now," Ema said quietly. "I should probably head back home with my brothers."

"Okay, Ema-chan," Masato said, staring at Ema in concern. "Call me if you need to talk."

Ema gave him a melancholy smile and left. Masato wondered what kind of family drama they were going through and wished he could do something to help Ema.

~.~

Spring semester had just started and Iori was idly thinking about the homework he had to do when the sight on the living room couch caught his complete attention. Ema. Sleeping. Iori's breath caught in his throat and he quietly made his way over to her. She looked so beautiful and peaceful. So innocent.

He slowly sat on the couch beside her, trying not to wake her. Some hair had fallen over Ema's face and he gently brushed it away, caressing her face as he did so. He was happy to see her sleeping face, but also angry to see her sleeping out on the couch. She was too innocent to understand that it was a bad idea to fall asleep out in the open in a house full of men. Why didn't she understand that only he was allowed to see her sleeping face?

Iori lightly ran his thumb over Ema's lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss her. He'd held back for more than long enough. Moving his hand to her shoulder, he gently shook her awake.

"Mmm." Ema scrunched her eyes shut tighter before opening them and stretching, looking around with a dazed and confused look. "Iori-kun? Am I in your way?" She asked sleepily as she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry for waking you," he apologized. "When we went to the beach house during the summer we said that we would discuss our future plans. Since it's the new year, I thought now would be a good time to do that."

"Sure, Iori-kun," Ema agreed. "Are you thinking that you don't want to stay at your current college?"

Iori shook his head. "I don't think that staying in Japan is the right thing for us. I think that Britain would be good though, and you were saying the other day that you wanted to learn English. I've already been accepted to Oxford, but it doesn't have to be there. I have a list of colleges that would be good and I'll help you apply for them. Later we can decide which one would be best."

"Britain?" Ema asked in confusion, barely following what Iori was saying. "I…if you want to transfer to a college in Britain I think that's great, Iori-kun, but I plan to stay in Japan."

"How are we supposed to be together of we're in different countries?" Iori asked, cupping Ema's cheek with one hand. "You'll graduate from high school this year. It's time for us to be together. I've already waited a long time for you."

The confused look in Ema's eyes turned alarmed as she gently took Iori's hand off her face. "What do you mean, Iori-kun?"

"You promised to stay with me through everything," Iori said, turning the hand that Ema had grabbed to grip her hand. " _We_ promised. I made that same promise that day to myself that I would never leave your side."

"I—" Ema opened her mouth to talk, but nothing else came out. She didn't understand what was going on. Iori was acting like they'd already had conversations like this before. Like they were already a couple. Ema thought back to when she would have said that to Iori and remembered that it was right after Fuyuka broke up with him. Could he somehow have mistaken her words from way back then? But why not bring this up until now?

Iori's attitude made her nervous and she tried to pull her hand back, but Iori only tightened his grip. "I meant that as your sister, Iori-kun," Ema said gently. "I want to be here for you as your family. I want to be there for everyone as family."

Iori's eyes darkened and Ema flinched when he stood up suddenly. "So you lied then?" He asked coldly.

"No!" Ema denied, also getting to her feet. "I didn't! You were hurting and I wanted to support you as your sister—I _do_ want to be there for you through everything Iori-kun, but not as—"

"You lied!" Iori yelled. "Just like Fuyuka. She told me she'd always love me and that we'd always be together—but then she left me. Are all girls the same way, just playing with guys' feelings?"

Ema flinched back from Iori's anger, her own pain and frustration rising. "Family is important. Family is the most important thing to me, that's why I want to be there for everyone. To support our family as a sister that they can rely on."

"You're just playing games!" Iori declared angrily, gripping Ema's shoulders. "That's why everyone is falling for you. It's your fault!"

Ema tried to pull away from Iori, but he held tight. Tears pooled in Ema's eyes as she curled her arms protectively around herself. "I was always alone before," she whispered, her breathing becoming ragged she was so upset. "All the time I went home to an empty house. I woke to an empty house. I lay in bed too sick to move with no one there to help me." Tears fell as she started to sob. "Dad loved his job and was happy, so I couldn't complain, but there was no one there for me! I had no other family, I had no one else to rely on! You don't know what that's like, you'll never know what that's like!"

Iori stared at Ema in shock. He'd never considered what her life had been like before she came to live with them.

"I don't understand why everyone is doing this," Ema cried. "Gaining a family meant everything to me. Having brothers made me so happy, and now it's all falling apart."

Suddenly, Kaname burst in between them, pulling Iori away from Ema. "Can't you see that you're hurting her?" He demanded.

Iori stepped back, looking guilty as shame overcame him. What was he doing? He covered his face with his hands and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ema," he whispered. "I'm sorry. I—I don't think I ever got over the pain of Fuyuka leaving me. I never dealt with it. I just channeled all my pain from that and focused it on you. I truly loved her and would have done anything for her, but that wasn't enough for her." He lowered his hands. "I didn't mean those things, Ema. Please don't think badly of me for what I said."

Ema nodded numbly, her arms still curled around herself and her tears still falling.

"I think I do need to leave Japan. I need time to truly get over Fuyuka. The right way this time." Iori apologized once more before leaving the living room.

Kaname looked at Ema, his heart aching for her, before he gently pulled her into his arms. She clutched at his shirt, her body trembling as she tried to stop her tears. "I wish you wouldn't hold so much pain inside you," Kaname murmured, rubbing Ema's back. It was the first time he'd heard her confess how hard her childhood had been. It had taken extreme duress, pain, and confusion for her to finally say anything about it.

Ema said nothing and the two of them stood there long after Ema stopped crying.

~.~

"Why don't we take a trip to visit Hikaru in Italy this summer?" Masaomi suggested one night at dinner a few weeks after the incident with Iori. Iori had already left, opting not to do spring semester at his current college. No one knew where he had gone. He hadn't told anyone or contacted anyone since he left. Only Kaname, Ema, and Iori knew what happened, but Masaomi and Ukyo suspected that something bad had happened. Everyone else was in shock that Iori chose to ditch out on his second semester of college with no explanation and barely any word to the family.

"An international vacation would be fun," Tsubaki agreed. "We haven't done one of those since Dad died."

"This is a little sudden, Masaomi-kun," Ukyo said, thinking that going to Italy would be a lot of planning and a lot of work to go see a man who would probably just stir up trouble.

"I think it'd be fun to get away for a while," Masaomi said. "A change of scenery might do us all a little good." He was mostly suggesting this for Ema's sake. He knew that she'd been under a lot of stress lately and she seemed listless in the days following Iori's departure. He wanted to give her something to look forward to.

"It'd be fun to have Hikaru-nii show us around Italy," Ema said. "He's always talking about the food and the fashion. I'd love to see the places he talks about."

Masaomi beamed. "It's settled then. Whoever can take time off this summer will go and visit Hikaru in Italy."

~.~

The next day after school, Ema filed to renew her passport and on Friday, went to pick it up. She was really excited about this trip. She was sure that Hikaru would make an excellent tour guide and it had been so long since she'd been out of the country with her dad that her passport had expired.

Ema wondered what kind of information was needed to approve something like this since in the past her dad had always handled everything. When Ema stepped outside of the office and opened up the packet that contained her passport, her family registry fell to the ground and she bent to pick it up. Glancing over the information, her eye caught on a particular word and she froze.

 **A/N:** Yes, we have FINALLY reached the 'Ema is adopted' plotline. Also, Ema apparently didn't need a passport to go on the cruise since I'm making her get one here.


	26. Secrets Revealed

**Chapter 25: Secrets Revealed**

Adopted. She was adopted. The thought kept repeating through Ema's mind as she trudged through the park at night. All those times she'd mentioned her mother, all those times she'd asked for stories…Had Rintaro just fed her lies? She always assumed he got uncomfortable when she asked about her mom because it was difficult for him to talk about his deceased wife, but that wasn't it at all. She had no mother.

Ema's phone went off for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night, and she ignored it like she had all the other times. She was tempted to chuck it into the nearest trash bin. No one cared about her as family anyway. Even Rintaro had only been there for part of Ema's childhood, and the moment he got married, he put up no argument about Ema living apart from him. He started traveling more for work and saw Ema even less. What a relief it must have been for him to get rid of taking care of an unwanted child.

But being unwanted wasn't good enough. No, Ema had to enter the world of the Asahina brothers and cause problems for them. Tsubaki and Azusa fighting. Subaru's and Natsume's relationship becoming even worse. Iori leaving without telling anyone where he was going. Everyone would have been better off without her.

Exhaustion from walking for hours finally overcame Ema and she dropped onto a bench, staring blankly out into the night.

Her phone went off again and then a voice said, "You could at least answer it."

Ema had to blink a couple times to make her eyes focus and see Natsume standing off to the side, his phone in his hand. "Why are you here?" She asked.

"Why am I here? Ema, it's two A.M. Everyone is out looking for you."

"I don't why they'd bother," Ema said, silently adding that she wasn't their sister anyway.

Natsume stared down at her in shock, wondering what could have happened. Kaname called him hours ago to ask if he knew where Ema was. When Natsume said he didn't, Kaname told him that Ema never came home from school, no one knew where she was, and she wasn't answering her phone. Natsume asked if anything had happened, and Kaname said that something happened about a little while ago, but he wasn't aware of anything new happening since then. But Natsume felt that something must have for Ema to have such a dark aura around her.

"I'm calling Ukyo," he announced.

"No!" Ema exclaimed. "I won't go back there."

Natsume stared down at Ema, wondering what he should do. He knelt down next to her and put a hand on her knee. "Ema, what happened?"

"It doesn't matter," she whispered, not looking at him.

Natsume sighed. "You can't just stay out here all night, Ema. Will you at least come to my apartment?"

Ema said nothing and Natsume was afraid she wasn't going to answer. Then, finally, in a quiet voice she said, "Fine."

Since she made no move to get up, Natsume took her hand and gently led her to his car.

Ema stayed silent the entire ride to Natsume's, and he kept throwing worried glances at her, wishing that she would say something _._ He couldn't do anything if he didn't know what the problem was. Heck, he probably couldn't do anything if he _did_ know what the problem was, but it scared him that she was so despondent.

In his apartment, Ema immediately went to the couch and sat down.

"Ema," Natsume pleaded, "what happened? Why didn't you go home?"

"That's not my home," she whispered, curling her arms around herself. "I don't have a home." Tears started to fall and Natsume's alarm and sense of helplessness grew.

"Ema, you have to tell me what happened," Natsume said, sitting down next to her. "Or I'm calling Ukyo right now." He hated resorting to a threat, and he'd have to call his brothers soon anyway to let them know that Ema was safe and with him. Most of them were out searching for her.

Ema flinched and reached into her backpack, pulling out a piece of paper and handing it to him.

Natsume's brow furrowed as he looked at the paper, realizing it was a family registry. Why would that make her so—

"I'm adopted," Ema said, staring at the turned off TV rather than looking at Natsume. "My parents didn't want me. And neither did Rintaro."

"You don't know that," Natsume said, his eyes flashing to Ema. He was still confused as to why she'd refuse to return home. He had no idea how she was feeling right now, but what did her being adopted have to do with the Asahina family? "Have you spoken to Rintaro?"

"What's the point?" Ema asked. "His actions speak clearly enough. I barely saw him before, and after he got married I saw him even less."

"Still," Natsume argued, "you don't know what he's thinking. And you don't know why your biological parents didn't raise you. You shouldn't just assume, Ema. Look at me and Subaru. If I had been honest with him from the beginning, maybe we would have a better relationship right now."

Ema shrugged and Natsume decided to change tactics. "I know that it must be upsetting to find out that you're adopted, but why does that make you want to run away from home, Ema? Our brothers are really worried about you. We've all been up most the night looking for you."

"Brothers?" Ema asked mockingly, finally turning to look at Natsume. "How many of our 'brothers' actually see me as their sister? And all I've done is cause problems for the Asahina family. Everyone is fighting because of me. The reality is, I don't have a family. Not a biological one, not an adopted one, and not a step one." The anger in her voice faded into pain. "I'm just an unwanted child. I should leave."

Natsume grabbed Ema's arm, holding her to the couch. "Unwanted?" He asked incredulously. "I know that everything happening at home right now is difficult for you to deal with, but it's happening because you mean so much to all of us. Everyone wants you by their side and is afraid of losing you to someone else. They just didn't express it in the best way and put a lot of pressure on you instead."

Natsume's heart thumped as he cupped Ema's face, hoping he wasn't about to make things worse. "I know how they feel because I…I love you too." He bent down and pressed his lips to Ema's. He pulled back and said, "You and I never really lived together and I've never thought of you much as a sister, but I _do_ consider you to be a part of the Asahina family. I can't imagine my brothers or family functions without you there, Ema. You are an essential member of this family."

Ema blinked at him in surprise, a faint blush covering her cheeks. The dark and despondent look had finally left her eyes. Natsume wanted so badly to kiss her again, but knew that he'd just be taking advantage of her in this situation, so he slowly slid his hand away from her face instead.

"Sleep here tonight," he said. "You can have my bed."

"Okay," Ema agreed quietly, looking down at her hands.

"I'm going to call Ukyo to let him know that you're okay. All right?"

Ema nodded before getting up and heading into Natsume's room. Despite the severity of the situation, Natsume still flushed at the thought of Ema lying in his bed. He pushed those thoughts away and took out his phone.

"Hey, Ukyo, it's me. I found Ema and she's at my apartment, but she doesn't want to come home right now. Could you call Rintaro for me and let him know that Ema found out she's adopted? He really needs to speak to her."

~.~

Ema woke the next morning to a text message from Rintaro explaining that both her parents died before she was a year old. Rintaro had been best friends with Ema's father, who was also a traveler and adventurer. Rintaro had watched Ema when her father was away for work after her mother died. When Ema's father died too, Rintaro immediately stepped in to adopt her because he already considered Ema to be part of his family. He'd wanted to tell Ema about her first parents and that she was adopted, but he'd been afraid too. He hadn't know how best to go about it, or when to do it. Rintaro included a picture of Ema's parents with her as a baby and promised that he would be back soon and explain more then.

Ema stared at the picture for a long time, surprised that she could see some of her features in two people who were strangers to her. She was still upset, but she was also excited at the thought of learning about her biological parents. She hoped that Rintaro had a lot of stories about them.

A knock came at the door while Natsume and Ema were eating breakfast and Natsume got up. A moment later, Louis appeared with a gentle smile on his face. "Good morning, Em-chan," he greeted. "Are you feeling any better today?"

"A little," Ema said, fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt. "But I don't know if I'm ready to go home yet."

"Would it be okay if I took you to the park to talk?" Louis asked.

Ema agreed.

~.~

On the way to the park, Louis took Ema first to buy a new dress and then to the salon where he worked to arrange her hair, telling her that looking cute would help her feel better.

"Natsume told us that you found out you're adopted," Louis said as the two of them slowly walked around the park. "I can understand why that would be upsetting, but why did that make it so that you didn't come home?"

"Because I feel like I don't have a family," Ema said quietly. "There's no one in my life related to me by blood and half my stepbrothers don't think of me as their sister anyway."

"Blood relations aren't everything," Louis said. "There's lots of other factors that determine who is your family and who isn't." Ema mentally scoffed, thinking that someone with twelve brothers couldn't possibly understand how she felt, but then Louis turned his head and gave her a little smile. "And I know what I'm talking about, because I'm adopted too."

"What?" Ema asked, stopping in her tracks. "You're adopted?"

Louis nodded. "I'm the only one of the Asahina brothers who's adopted. I was in an orphanage in France when Miwa came to adopt me. Only our older brothers know. Everyone who's younger than me doesn't know." They continued walking again and Ema tried to process this new information. She'd had no idea that Louis was adopted.

"I used to feel really insecure about it," Louis told Ema. "I noticed common traits that our brothers share, and I didn't have those traits. It was hard for me to feel like I belonged, but that changed eventually. I made lots of good memories with everyone and came to think of Miwa as my mother and everyone else as my brothers. What's important with family isn't how you're related to each other, it's how you feel about each other."

Louis stopped and turned so that he was facing Ema, gently taking hold of her shoulders to make sure she was paying attention. "You are part of my family and I love you." He paused and tilted his head. "Do you feel the same way about me?"

Ema nodded, tears falling down her cheeks as she stepped forward to wrap her arms around Louis. "Thank you," Louis said, hugging Ema back and resting his head on top of hers, "for accepting me as family. I know that things are hard right now, but it won't always be that way, Em-chan. You are an important member of the Asahina family, we all feel that way and nothing will ever change that."

They stayed that way for a few minutes before Louis pulled back enough to see Ema's face. "Are you feeling better enough to go home now? Everyone is worried about you."

"Okay," Ema agreed quietly. "We can go home."

~.~

The moment Ema and Louis entered the top floor of Sunrise Mansion, Wataru came barreling towards Ema. "Oooonnneeee-chaaaannn!" Wataru cried as he threw himself at Ema, wrapping his arms around her. "I was so worried about you! I couldn't sleep at all last night." He buried his face in her stomach, holding onto her tightly.

"Sorry, Wataru-kun," Ema said, her heart warming at Wataru's hug. "I didn't mean to make anyone worry."

"Really?" Tsubaki asked, coming up to Ema with Azusa by his side and crossing his arms as he stared down at Ema. "Then why did you run away last night?"

"I…felt like I didn't have any family of my own and that I was ruining the Asahina family."

Tsubaki shook his head angrily. "You're not related to your dad like you thought you were—fine, be upset by that, but don't mix the Asahinas up in that. No matter how your life turns out, you will always be precious to all of us. Yes, I love you and want to be with you, but regardless of what you decide I will _always_ be here for you whether as your family or something else. Don't you _ever_ run away again."

"Tsubaki is right," Azusa agreed. "I realize that we hurt you, and we're deeply sorry for that. We pushed too much too fast and didn't think enough about how you were feeling, but when the stress becomes too much, talk to us about it rather than running away from it. I promise we'll take a step back, but can you promise that you'll talk to us next time?"

Wataru pulled back from Ema enough to look at Tsubaki and Azusa in confusion, wondering what they were talking about and what they'd done to upset Ema.

"I'll try," Ema agreed, nodding once.

"You're back," Yusuke said in relief, appearing from the kitchen. He closed his eyes and dropped his head, looking like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "Please don't ever scare me like that again."

Masaomi watched them all from the living room, thinking that all this was why he'd wanted everyone to hide their feelings until graduation. He was afraid that it would all pour out too fast and chase Ema away. Hopefully, everyone would pay attention to how Ema was feeling now instead of just focusing on themselves.

~.~

Ema was surprised that night when Miwa showed up, asking to take Ema out to dinner. She said that Rintaro told her everything, and since he couldn't be here right now, she hoped that she might be able to cheer Ema up a bit.

Ema wasn't sure what they'd talk about, but agreed, happy that Miwa was concerned enough about her to come see her.

Ema asked about Miwa's last business trip and they chatted about mundane things until they arrived at the restaurant. After they were seated at a table, Miwa surprised Ema by saying, "My first husband came from a large family. He had many siblings and cousins and had a happy childhood growing up among so many people that he loved. Because of that, he wanted us to have a big family too. I, on the other hand, grew up as an only child in a very poor family. I wanted to give my husband the large family that he wanted, and I love my sons dearly, but I also strongly felt that I wanted my sons to have all the opportunities that I didn't have growing up, or, at least, not have to fight so hard for them. It seems like everything while I was growing up was a struggle. Having to get through school while hungry. Having to get a job in junior high to help support my family and pushing my studies back to be a lower priority. Working multiple jobs to put myself through college."

Miwa stared at her hand wrapped around drink, seemingly lost in her thoughts. "Anyway," she said, shaking her head and offering Ema an embarrassed smile, "that's my reasoning for always working so hard, so I could give my family a good life. I know that because of the choices I've made, you didn't end up in what you might call a conventional family when Rintaro and I married, but I hope that you consider the Asahinas to be your real family, and that having so many stepbrothers helps make up for not having blood relatives in your life. I hope…I hope that you know how much my sons care for you and that you feel like they're truly there for you. And I hope that you still feel you can regard me and Rintaro as your mother and father."

"It's…difficult," Ema admitted, surprised at Miwa's admission. There was no doubt that the Asahina brothers had been able to live comfortably and get good educations because of Miwa's career choices in life, but Ema wondered if maybe they would have appreciated having their mother home more instead. "But Louis talked with me and told me that he was adopted and how he felt about it growing up. I think…I think that I'll get there. The Asahina family has always meant the world to me. When you and Dad got married and I gained thirteen brothers, I couldn't have imagined anything better."

"I'm grateful," Miwa said, smiling. "Your father and you have been such a blessing to me and my sons. Adding the two of you in made our family better."

"Thanks," Ema said shyly, hoping everyone still felt that way, despite all that had happened.

Ema took a drink as a mischievous light entered Miwa's eyes. "So, daughter of mine, have you fallen in love with any of my sons?"

Ema set her cup down abruptly, coughing as she tried not to spit her water back out.

Miwa laughed at the stunned look on Ema's face. "Not that you need to fall in love with any of them, of course, but I wouldn't mind if you ended up marrying one of them." Miwa's smiled gentled as she said, "Then you'd doubly be my daughter and always stay close to the family. Sometimes I feel like you're the glue keeping everyone together."

Ema blinked in surprise at Miwa's statement. Ema had been thinking that choosing one of her stepbrothers (assuming she could see them as anything but that) would be something that would break the family apart, not keep them close together, but there was no guarantee that Ema would stay close with her stepbrothers when she married and moved out. Could that really be something that would help the family remain close?

"Are you thinking about it now?" Miwa joked, the mischievous light coming back into her eye. She leaned close and conspiratorially said, "Personally, I'd recommend Masaomi as a husband candidate. He's reliable and would make both a good husband and good father."

~.~

Ema felt a little lighter—horribly embarrassed and shocked, but a little lighter as she went home that evening. Outside her room, she found Louis waiting for her.

"What is it, Louie?" She asked, unlocking her door and motioning for him to follow her inside.

"There's something I want to ask you Em-chan, well, offer you really. I don't know if this is what would be best for you, but I thought it might be a good idea for you to get some space for a little bit if you feel like you need it. The choice is completely up to you, of course."

"The choice about what, Louie?" Ema asked in confusion, wondering what Louis could be talking about.

Louis sighed. "A little while ago, my biological father contacted me. He wants to get to know me. I wasn't sure how to feel about it—I'm still unsure, but I do know that if I don't take the chance to get to know him now, I might regret it. I'll be going to France to meet him soon. If you think you need some space from our family to think things through, I'm willing to wait until you graduate in the spring and take you with me to France."

 **A/N:** Cliffhangers are the best Also, I might post again tomorrow because I'm ahead in my writing.


	27. Graduation

**Chapter 26: Graduation**

Ema took a deep breath before entering the café where she'd invited Tsubaki and Azusa to. Graduation was a few short weeks away and Ema had determined that she needed to talk about her feelings with everyone who had confessed to her before she graduated.

After talking with Natsume and Miwa, Ema realized that she was making things worse by doing nothing at all. She couldn't decide what to do or say, and truthfully had wanted to ignore all of it, but her ambivalence just made everyone hope that Ema would choose them. They had been honest with Ema, now Ema needed to be honest with them.

Tsubaki and Azusa were already sitting at a small table near the back. Ema went to join them, her heart racing from nerves. "H—hi," Ema said when she got to the table. "Thanks for meeting me here."

"Of course," Azusa said, standing up and pulling Ema's chair out for her. Ema murmured her thanks as she sat down. Azusa and Tsubaki threw each other looks over Ema's head as she looked at the menu. They could guess why Ema invited them there to talk. The only question was, what would she say?

When Azusa sat down, Ema pushed the menu away from her, knowing that she shouldn't use it as an excuse to not look at the twins. Tsubaki and Azusa deserved for Ema to give them her full attention when she said this.

"So," Ema began, looking between the two of them, "I—I wanted to let you both know how I feel about all this. When…" Ema clenched her fists on her lap, wishing that this wasn't so hard. "When I first joined the Asahina family, you were both so welcoming. Especially you, Tsubaki-kun." Ema flashed Tsubaki a tense, though genuine, smile. "I remember the first school event I had after moving in with you and the two of you came with Kaname-kun. I'd never had any family come before and it meant the world to me. I remember thinking that I wouldn't officially be part of your family until our parents got married, but when the three of you came, I thought that I didn't have to wait after all."

A waitress came by to take their orders and drop off waters. Ema gratefully took a drink after the waitress left before continuing. "Becoming a part of the Asahina family and having brothers there to support me was beyond a dream come true for me. To have a family like all of you was better than anything I could have imagined. I love all of you so much, but as my family. I've never thought of any of you as anything other than that. Thank you for being honest with me about how you feel, but this is how I feel."

Ema waited in silence for Tsubaki or Azusa to say something. Finally, Tsubaki sighed. "Well, we can't fault you for that. For being honest or for feeling that way about us. I'm grateful that you still consider the Asahinas to be your family, because we are, Ema. And we always will be no matter what happens. Although…" Tsubaki reached across the table to take Ema's hand. "It doesn't change the fact that I'm in love with you."

"Same here," Azusa said, taking Ema's other hand and laying a gentle kiss on it. "I love you, Ema, and I'll always be here for you. In whatever way you need me to be."

~.~

The next weekend, Ema found Subaru in the courtyard, a duffel bag beside him.

"You're leaving?" Ema asked in surprise.

Subaru shrugged uncomfortably, looking at the ground. "I accepted the offer of the professional team, but I need more training. I'm going to live on the Meiji campus so that I have the facilities right there and can focus more. I'm sorry I won't be here for your and Yusuke's graduation." His eyes flicked up to meet Ema's. "And I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you. You can forget about what I said to you before."

Ema's heart ached at the pain on Subaru's face. "I know that this has been hard for everyone," she said. "But I'm glad that you feel like I was able to help you become better at basketball." Subaru looked surprised, obviously not expecting Ema to say that. "I'm grateful to everyone in this family—for all the ways everyone has supported me and for all the ways I've been able to support all you of you, because that's what a family should be about."

Ema laid a gentle hand on Subaru's arm. "I'm grateful that you told me how you feel, Subaru-kun, but for me, family is the most important thing. Right now, I'm not willing to do anything that might endanger that, the relationship we all have with each other as family is precious."

Subaru nodded, still looking sad. "I understand. Good-bye, Ema-chan."

"Bye, Subaru-kun," Ema said, her heart clenching at how final that sounded. She assured herself that she'd see him again. Subaru was following his dream and Ema was happy for him, though it did make her sad to see another of her stepbrothers leaving. Also, in part, because of her.

Ema had walked past Subaru when he called out. "I'll become a better man."

Ema turned in surprise to see Subaru looking at her, a determined look on his face. "I'll become a better man while I'm gone, Ema-chan. I promise that when you see me next, I'll have changed."

Ema smiled and nodded at Subaru before he grabbed his bag and left.

~.~

Later that week, Ema knocked on Fuuto's door, glad that he was home for once. Lately, his band had become even more popular and Fuuto rarely seemed to be home.

Fuuto answered the door and leaned against the doorjamb. "Yes, Nee-san?" He asked. "Something I can do for you?"

"Can we talk?" Ema asked him. Fuuto stepped back to let Ema inside, shutting the door behind him.

Ema walked into his room and Fuuto followed, sitting on his bed. Ema opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Fuuto asked, "Are you okay? I haven't really gotten to talk to you since you found out you were adopted."

Ema blinked in surprise. "Yes," she answered. "I really struggled at first, but…I'm okay now. I think some good things happened as a result of my finding out. I learned some important things."

"Good," Fuuto said, nodding. A moment later, the soft look in his eyes changed back to his normal sardonic stare as he leaned back on his hands. "Let me guess, you came here today to let me down easy. To tell me that family is the most important thing in the world and that you can't bear to choose one of us because that would mean rejecting the others and possibly hurting our family dynamic?"

"Well…yes, essentially," Ema replied, shocked that Fuuto already knew what she was going to say. She almost wondered if Fuuto had spoken with the twins, but Tsubaki and Fuuto were as antagonistic towards each other as ever. There's no way that Tsubaki would have given Fuuto friendly advice or that Fuuto would have asked for it.

Fuuto shook his head. "You're so predictable, but fine, wax eloquent about the importance of family and how much it means to you. It still doesn't change the fact that I've never seen you as part of my family and never will."

Ema couldn't deny that those words hurt, but she comforted herself with the thought that at least Fuuto cared about her and accepted her presence at Sunrise Mansion.

" _And,_ " Fuuto said, stressing the word, "if you're going to expect me to try to understand your point of view, then I expect you to try to understand mine. I won't accept you thinking of me as your little brother. You know how little importance I place on family, and that's not what our relationship is." Fuuto mentally added that, unlike family, Ema was very important to him.

"Fine," Ema huffed, crossing her arms in irritation, but trying to meet Fuuto halfway. "Does that mean that we're just friends then?"

Fuuto smirked. "Sure, whatever you want, _Ema._ Just know that I don't plan on keeping things that way for long."

~.~

A week before Ema and Yusuke graduated, Masaomi piled Ukyo, Wataru, the twins, Yusuke, Kaname, and Ema into two cars, being very secretive about where they were going. No matter how many times Ema asked, no one answered, just gave Ema a soft smile and told her that she'd find out soon. The only thing that Masaomi would say was that he felt it was important and he wanted as much of the family to be there as possible.

Ema was surprised when they drove up to a cemetery. "What are we doing here?" Ema asked as they got out of the car.

"There are people here who we all felt we should meet," Masaomi explained, holding a hand out to Ema. Ema stared dumbfounded at Masaomi, realizing who he must be talking about. Slowly, Ema gave Masaomi her hand and let him guide her along.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a tombstone that read:

Nagame Kenji

Husband

Father

Adventurer

Next to the first tomb was one that read:

Yukie Kenji

Wife

Mother

Ema's hand tightened around Masaomi's. "How did you find this?" Ema whispered.

"Rintaro-san told us," Kaname explained. "We told him that we wanted to bring you here."

"We wanted to thank your parents," Masaomi explained. Ema looked up at him in confusion and he smiled down at her. "We're sorry that you lost your parents so early and didn't get to know them, but we're grateful that we have you in our lives. We wanted to thank your parents for having you even though they didn't get to raise you so that we could have you in our family."

Ema looked back at her other brothers, standing behind them. Her vision was blurry from tears filling her eyes, but she could still see them smiling at her. "We're all grateful, Ema," Tsubaki said. "For all that you've done for us and all that you are for us."

Unable to hold her tears back, Ema wrapped her arms around Masaomi and buried her face in his chest. "Thank you," she whispered.

Masaomi smiled, wrapping one arm around her and placing the other on the back of her head.

~.~

Ema was grateful for the atmosphere at her and Yusuke's graduation party. After she'd talked with her brothers, the atmosphere had become less tense at home. Things weren't the way they were before, of course, and it wasn't perfect, but things were better. However, Ema still had one more person to talk with before she was done.

When Natsume went out onto the balcony, Ema followed him out.

~.~

Yusuke sighed as he watched Ema walk outside after Natsume. Part of him felt like a coward for not confessing his feelings to Ema at graduation like he'd promised himself he would, but, thick as he was, he did eventually figure out that part of why things were so awkward at home was because some of his brothers were also in love with Ema and had confessed to her. How he'd been so stupid as to not notice other guys falling for the woman he loved, he didn't want to think about. However, after seeing how stressed and upset Ema was over everything, he couldn't add to that by telling her his feelings too, at least, not right now. He hoped the day would come when he could tell her.

~.~

"Natsume-kun?" Ema said gently. "I—I wanted to talk to you for a minute."

"Yes?" Natsume asked, turning away from the city to look at Ema. "What is it, Ema-chan?"

"I wanted to say thank you for your feelings—for being honest with me and for always being there for me. I don't know what I would have done without you. I also wanted to tell you that I can't accept your feelings right now. This family is all that I ever wanted, and it's something that's precious and should be protected."

Natsume sighed and smiled sadly. "I had a feeling you'd be saying something like this to me soon." He stepped close to her and bent down to whisper in her ear. "But it's also not good to suppress your own feelings. If you change your mind, know that I'm right here waiting for you." He kissed her cheek before giving her another smile and going back inside.

Ema held a hand to her cheek, blushing. Then she pushed those thoughts aside. She still had one more announcement to make before she was done.

Walking into the living room, Ema cleared her throat and said, "I have something I need to tell everyone." Her eyes moved around the room until they landed on Louis, who gave her an encouraging smile. Ema smiled back before continuing. "You all know now that Louie-nii's biological father contacted him and asked him to go to France to get to know him." She paused as her brothers exchanged confused faces, wondering what this had to do with Ema. "Louie offered to bring me with him and I accepted."

The room erupted into a cacophony of noise as multiple brothers spoke at once. "Why?" Tsubaki demanded. "We—" He cut himself off before saying 'we backed off', though he felt irritated that he and Azusa had backed off and Ema was still leaving.

"What about college?" Yusuke asked, feeling panicked. He'd tried so hard to get into the same college. And barely managed to.

"When did you decide this?" Ukyo asked.

"It's only temporary," Ema said, raising her voice and waving her hands in a calming motion. "I'll be gone for the summer, but I'll come back in time for school. This isn't because of anything that any of you did." She looked around the room again, meeting her brothers' eyes so that they knew she meant what she said, she wasn't leaving to escape them or because she was upset at them. "This is for me. I need to think about what I want in my life and who I want to be."

"Why can't you do that here?" Wataru asked plaintively.

"I just think that it would be a good experience," Ema tried to explain to Wataru. "But I'll be back soon. I promise."


	28. France

**Chapter 27: France**

"Do you know anything about your biological father?" Ema asked Louis as they sat on the plane to Europe. "Do you have any memories of him?"

"My father's name is Davet Russo," Louis said, turning to look at Ema. "I don't have any memories of him or of my biological mother. My first memories are of the orphanage I was placed in, and, up until a few months ago, I knew nothing about him or about why he gave me up."

"So, you do you know now?" Ema prompted after Louis didn't continue. "Not that you have to tell me, of course," Ema hurried to add.

"It's fine," Louis said, flashing Ema a smile. "I don't mind telling you." Louis leaned back in his chair and stared straight ahead as he spoke. "Davet is a successful businessman in France. He has always been very focused on his work, but his wife wanted a child. Eventually, he gave in and they had me. Shortly after I was born, Margot, my mother, died in a car accident. Davet didn't know what to do because he hadn't wanted any kids in the first place. It was Margot's dream to be a mother. He decided that I was a painful reminder of his dead wife and that he didn't have any love to give me, so had me sent to the orphanage."

Ema bit her lip to stop herself from expressing her opinion. It was awful that any parent would ever feel that way and do something like that, but Louis already knew that. There was no point in Ema saying it out loud.

"And then Mom found you?" Ema asked, for the first time wondering why a woman who already had six children (and would go on to have many more) would choose to adopt a son.

"Not quite," Louis said, glancing at Ema. "Miwa and Davet had business ties and Davet knew that Mom had a large family. He felt guilty about getting rid of me and wanted me placed in a good home. He eventually admitted to Mom what he had done and asked her if she would adopt me."

"Wow," Ema said, blinking in surprise. "And you didn't know about any of this?"

Louis shook his head. "But like I told you before, Mom never treated me any differently than she did her biological sons. I don't know what she was thinking when she adopted me or why she chose to, but I'm grateful that she did."

"Me too," Ema said emphatically, wondering what kind of a man Davet Russo was. He sounded…contradictory. Cold because he hadn't wanted to take care of his own son and chose to focus on work rather than family (Miwa did that too, but she worked _because_ of her family and loved them all). Yet, still somewhat caring and conscientious because he still wanted his son to end up in a good home even though he himself didn't want Louis.

Maybe Davet had softened later in life, since he wanted to get to know his son now. Except, Louis had told her that Davet sent his employee to talk to Louis. After twenty-one years of not seeing his son and deciding he wanted a relationship with Louis, Davet didn't even bother coming himself to ask Louis to come to France to get to know him. He sent an emissary instead.

Ema was relieved to get out of Japan for a while to give herself some space to think. She was excited to spend time with Louis. She was _not_ , however, so sure that she wanted to meet and temporarily live in the same house as Davet Russo.

~.~

Ema paused at the end of a hall the branched in three different directions, forgetting which way she needed to go to reach the front door. She and Louis had been living here for two weeks, but Ema still got a little lost sometimes. Davet lived in a huge mansion, which seemed like overkill since he lived alone. Had he even been inside every room in the house?

Ema pushed those thoughts away and chose left. Thankfully, she didn't spend much time around Davet, partially since he was usually working. Ema spent her mornings with Louis before he went off to work (he already had a job at a high-end salon because he thought it'd be fun to learn new hairstyles), and at night all three of them ate together. After that, Ema usually retired to her room to give Louis and Davet time to get to know each other. During the day Ema either studied for college, or wandered around the city. France was very different from Japan and Ema found it both fascinating and overwhelming to just take in all the sights.

As Ema took a right she couldn't help but shake her head at the art and vases adorning the halls. They were amazing, but looked like they belonged in a museum rather than a private residence.

When Ema took another left, she nearly ran into Davet since she was paying more attention to a painting of a garden instead of where she was going. Ema gasped and quickly backed up, half tripping over her feet. "I'm so sorry, Russo-san!" Ema said, giving a little bow. "I didn't know that you were here."

"That's all right, Ema," Davet said, giving Ema an awkward smile. "I forgot some papers at home and since I don't have as many meetings today, I decided I'd come home for lunch and retrieve the papers myself." He paused before asking, "Would you like to join me?"

"Sure," Ema said, hoping her reluctance didn't show. Davet led Ema through the house and passed the dining room until the entered the less formal table in the kitchen. Davet's cook had already set out two plates for lunch.

"By the way, Ema," Davet said as they sat down, "you don't have to call me 'Russo-san.' I know that being polite is very important in the Japanese culture, but you're my son's sister. I think that makes it okay for you to be a little less formal."

"I suppose so," Ema agreed, not really wanting to call him anything more familiar than Russo-san. However, with Louis trying so hard to build a relationship with his father, Ema was trying hard to keep her dislike of Davet secret, so she'd have to switch to calling him Davet-san instead.

"Regret is an interesting thing," Davet sighed.

Ema looked up at Davet in surprise. "What?"

Davet shook his head. "Pardon me, I'm just musing aloud."

There were silent for a moment before Ema said, "If you have more to say, you can say it. I don't mind listening."

Davet idly scrapped hist noodles across his plate as he spoke. "Everyone has regrets in their life. Things they look back on and wish they could change. In hindsight they wonder what they were thinking and how they could have made that decision. People change, however. The decisions we made in our youth aren't decisions we would make now that we've grown older and wiser."

Ema felt a pang of guilt for her unkind thoughts about Davet as she heard him speak. She knew almost nothing about him and his life and what led him to make the choices that he did. Maybe the most important thing was that he was trying to do the right thing now.

"And sometimes," Davet continued, "you learn that decisions you regret were the right choice after all."

"What do you mean?" Ema asked in confusion.

Davet smiled sadly. "I wish that I had been there to watch Louis grow up. To watch him take his first steps and say his first words. To…" he broke off with a sigh. "There's a lot of things you miss when you're not around, but I also know that I still would have missed a lot of those things even if he'd been here because of my work. And, more than that, Louis has told me all about your family. Being a part of the Asahina family, Louis got far more love and support than he would have gotten from me. I'm grateful for the experiences he had growing up with so many brothers. And gaining a sister along the way." He smiled at Ema. "Family comes in many forms and now Louis has his adopted family, his stepfamily, and his biological family. I don't think it's bad to have family in different forms. All of it has helped to make Louis the kind and warm man that he is. I know that his mother would be proud."

"I guess you're right," Ema agreed. It had hurt to learn that she was adopted, but she knew that Rintaro loved her no matter what. And though things had gotten complicated and difficult with her stepfamily, they had changed her life from lonely and boring to one full of life, laughter, and love. She owed them a lot for that.

~.~

The next week, Ema was walking through a park when a hand gently landed on her shoulder. "Ema-chan?" A voice asked.

Ema turned, curious who might know her in France other than Louis or Davet, then she froze in surprise. "Iori-kun?"

The two stared at each other, both equally dumbfounded to see the other there. As Ema got over her surprise, she took a closer look at Iori. His eyes no longer held the haunted and troubled look they sometimes had before and he had a calm and peaceful aura around him, like he used to. Ema hadn't noticed anything at the time, which she still cursed herself for, but in retrospect, the signs that Iori wasn't okay had been there and Ema just hadn't seen them.

"You look good," Ema said sincerely, relieved to see Iori looking so well. She hoped he'd been able to truly get over Fuyuka after leaving home.

"Thanks," Iori said, seeming surprised at the compliment. "You do too. I was really shocked to see you here, though. What are you doing in France?"

"Louis' biological father lives here and invited Louis to come and get to know him," Ema explained. "Louis invited me to come along with him for the summer."

Iori blinked uncomprehendingly at Ema.

Ema gasped and covered her mouth with her hand as she realized that Iori didn't know. "That's right!" She exclaimed. "You left before everyone found out." And he'd had no contact with the family that Ema was aware of since he left. "Louis was adopted. Everyone older than him knew, but no one younger did. Louis' father contacted him a couple months ago."

"So after that Louis-kun told everyone that he was adopted?" Iori asked, still looking surprised.

"That's not…quite what happened," Ema said slowly. The two ended up sitting down at one of the benches in the park as Ema explained part of what happened to Iori.

"I'm sorry," Iori said after Ema finished her story. "I'm sure that part of why everything was so difficult for you was because of my actions."

"It wasn't just you," Ema hurried to reassure him. "And what happened between us wasn't just your fault. There were a lot of things that I didn't understand and that I didn't see. If I had been paying better attention—"

Iori shook his head and held a hand out, stopping Ema from saying more. "We were both at fault and we're both sorry. Let's leave it at that or the two of us might end up sitting out here apologizing to each other all day." Ema smiled, grateful that Iori no longer seemed upset about what had happened.

"Why don't we start over?" Iori suggested. "Except, as friends this time. I think you have enough brothers and suitors in your life."

Iori's suggestion surprised Ema, but she nodded. "I think that would be nice. It sounds like a good place to start."

"Good," Iori said, flashing Ema his trademark princely smile, then he paused for a moment before asking, "How do you plan to spend your summer here, Ema-chan?"

"I'm not sure yet," Ema admitted. "I've only been here for two weeks and so far I've mostly just studied for college and looked around town. Why do you ask?"

"There's a company affiliated with the group I work with who are looking for interns who speak Japanese," Iori explained. "I was wondering if you'd be interested. I think it might be a good experience for you and it would look good on a resume."

"What kind of internship?" Ema asked curiously, wondering what Iori was doing for work in France.

Rather than explaining anything to Ema, Iori lead Ema to an impressive looking office building in the middle of town. On the walk there, Iori told Ema that he'd decided to take some time off of school, but would eventually go back to college.

When they entered the bustling office, Ema immediately saw evidence of what Iori was doing pasted on the walls. "You're a model?!" She exclaimed, shocked at the sexy pictures of Iori dressed in high fashion. The idea that people would look at Iori and think he was a model wasn't strange, but to actually see him as one…

"It wasn't something that I went looking for," Iori admitted. "I got scouted and since I didn't have any plans for my life at the moment, I decided I would see how it went."

"Wow," Ema said, still surprised at the turn Iori's life had taken. Then she remembered why they were there. "So, what is this company and what is the internship for?"

"This is Star City, a public relations firm that works with the entertainment industry," Iori explained. "They help do things like promote idols' images and handle scandals. The group I'm with model all over the world, so Star City wants an intern who can handle their social media in Japan."

"I'm not in Japan," Ema said, wondering if she was missing something here.

Iori smiled. "You don't need to be in Japan, you just need to be able to update the social media sites used by Star City for Japan. What do you think?"

Ema looked around at the busy office, feeling overwhelmed just seeing everything. People rushed back and forth, looking like they were in a hurry. Phones kept ringing, people were talking and typing. Everyone was well dressed and had in iphone, ipad, and computer in front of them. "Why do you think I'd be good at this?" Ema asked.

"Because you've grown up around famous people," Iori explained. "Tsubaki-kun and Azusa-kun are nationally famous voice actors. Fuuto-kun is a nationally famous idol. Hikaru-kun is a novelist known all around the world. I think you've probably picked up more than you're aware of about how to handle careers like theirs, but more than that, I think you'd be great at this job because you genuinely care. Nothing sets a star more at ease than knowing that the person in charge of their PR is genuinely interested in looking out for them."

Iori waited a moment before asking, "So, can I introduce you to the managers of the interns?"

~.~

Two months later, Ema felt like coming to France was one of the best decisions she'd made. She loved interning for Star City and felt like she did a good job. She didn't know if this was what she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing, but it felt exciting to be a doing a job that she loved, especially one where she got to help other people. She remembered how stressed her brothers used to get when they were building their careers and their fan base. Ema enjoyed helping other stars do that for themselves and give them one less thing to worry about in their busy lives.

When Ema arrived home that night, she was greeted at the door by Louis. "I have a surprise for you," he said.

"What surprise?" Ema asked, tilting her head. Louis had already done a lot for her. At Star City, everyone was expected to dress well in order to impress clients, so Louis had taken Ema shopping and gotten her fashionable work clothes. He also did her hair most mornings, making her the envy of several of her female coworkers.

"Well, it's not really my surprise," Louis admitted, leading Ema to one of Davet's several living rooms. "I just get to be the one to bring you to him."

"Him?" Ema echoed. As she stepped into the room she saw a man with long red hair sitting on the couch. "Hikaru-kun!" Ema exclaimed.

Hikaru flashed a grin and stood up to hug Ema. Louis smiled at the two from the doorway before leaving to give them time together.

"What are you doing here?" Ema asked as they sat down on the couch.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay in person, rather than just relying on your emails," Hikaru said. "I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to get to you. Especially with you in France. We're much closer to each other now than we were before."

"That's okay," Ema brushed off. "I know that you've been busy with the release of your new book. I saw that your agency had you go to the United States for a book signing tour. I'm so excited that it's doing so well! It looks like you'll be able to turn it into a series after all."

"Yes," Hikaru agreed, "but let's not talk about that right now. I came here for _you._ " Hikaru took Ema's hands in his own. "Ukyo called and talked to me a while ago, and despite you assuring me that you're fine about finding out you're adopted, it sounds like I missed quite a bit more drama than just that, which you did _not_ tell me about."

"I guess," Ema said quietly, staring at the floor. She wondered what all Ukyo had told Hikaru.

"I've been thinking a lot about all that went on back home while I was gone," Hikaru said. "Possibly more than you have, and I want to ask you some difficult questions."

"Okay," Ema said when Hikaru didn't continue, looking up at him. "What do you want to ask?"

Hikaru squeezed Ema's hands and stared directly into her eyes. "Can you honestly tell me that you think of all of us Asahinas one-hundred percent as your brothers, or do you just wish you did?"

Ema's eyes widened in shock and she pulled her hands away from him without thinking. Hikaru was right that that was a difficult question, though she had no idea what to say to it.

"Now, don't get upset with me," Hikaru said, holding his hands up in a placating manor. "My wish is for you to end up with someone amazing who will make you happy and take care of you, and I believe that plenty of my brothers fit that category." He leaned forward and conspiratorially whispered, "There'd also be the added benefit that if you dated one of the Asahina brothers, you wouldn't have to deal with the vetting processes of all of us deciding whether we approved or disapproved of your boyfriend. To be blunt, I think most of us have been planning on killing any guy that got close to you since you were fourteen years old."

Hikaru pulled back and become more serious as he asked, "Do you really think it would damage our family if you chose one of the Asahina brothers as your boyfriend?" Ema shrugged uncomfortably. She felt happy that Hikaru wanted her with someone who would care for her, but she didn't know what to think about him feeling like it'd be good if she ended up with one of their brothers. She wondered if things would have gone any differently back home if Hikaru had been there running interference.

"Personally, I think that right now the most hurtful thing to our family would be if you found some other guy to be your boyfriend. The choice is yours, of course, but if you have any feelings for one of us brothers, I don't think you should hold back."

~.~

"Em-chan?" Louis called softly, knocking on Ema's door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Ema called, putting her laptop off to the side. "What is it, Louis?"

Louis came to sit next to Ema on the bed. "I wanted to talk to you about what your plans are. There's two weeks until Meiji University starts and I know we were planning on going back soon, but I think I'm going to stay here longer. If you want to stay with me, I'd be happy to have you here. It's a little late, but we might still be able to find a college here in France to enroll you in."

Ema sat silently for a while, a little surprised at this revelation. Davet's and Louis' relationship had been growing slowly. Ema had to admit that things got a little better when she stopped feeling so ornery towards Davet and she wondered if Louis had been able to sense it and it had made him hold back. However, Ema hadn't expected Louis to decide to stay here. The thought of being separated from him hurt, but…

"I think that coming to France with you was the right decision," Ema said. "A lot of good things happened this summer and I feel like I learned a lot about myself and about what I want in life, but…I can't imagine staying here long term. I really like it here, but I miss Sunrise Mansion and all our brothers. Also, Star City is opening up a branch in Japan and they already offered to let me intern there part time while I attend University."

"That's great, Em-chan," Louis said, smiling and pulling Ema into a hug. "I'm grateful that coming here was good for you like I thought it would be. And I'm happy you found a job you enjoy." He pulled back and patted Ema's hair. "I feel like it was easier to come here and talk to Davet because I had you by my side. I'll really miss not having you here."

"Will you be okay?" Ema asked in concern. Maybe Louis wasn't as comfortable with Davet as Ema thought.

"I'll be fine," Louis assured her, tilting his head and gently smiling. "I'll just miss you is all."


	29. Return

**Chapter 28: Return**

Ukyo was preparing dinner when he received a text from Ema telling him that she was coming home. A wave of relief washed over him when he saw the text. Ema had occasionally contacted the family, mostly through email, while in France to let them how she was doing. She told them about her job at Star City, about meeting Iori and that he seemed to be doing well, and about some of the amazing things she'd seen in France. Part of Ukyo had feared that Ema would decide to stay. And after everything that had happened, he wasn't sure he could blame her if she did.

He texted back asking when, but all he got in return was that she had to tie up a few loose ends at work, but that it would be soon. If it was soon she should already have her flight booked. Why wouldn't she tell him?

"Something wrong at work?" Yusuke asked, seeing Ukyo frowning at his phone.

"No," Ukyo said, sliding the phone back into his pocket. "I just received a text from Ema. She's coming home."

Yusuke froze, afraid he hadn't heard right. "She's coming back? When?"

"Soon," Ukyo answered, paying attention to his dinner preparations rather than Yusuke.

"Thank goodness," Yusuke said, too quietly for Ukyo to hear. He held a hand to his thumping heart, trying to slow it down. University was about to start and Yusuke had been getting nervous about Ema not being home yet. He'd started thinking that maybe Ema had found a guy in France, or that she'd decided France was better than Japan and never wanted to come back. Now he could look forward to college again. Well, look forward to going to college with Ema, anyway. That was the important part.

At dinner, Ukyo made the announcement that Ema would be back soon.

"Yay!" Wataru exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air. "Onee-chan is coming back! Onee-chan is coming back! When? Can we go to the airport to meet her, Mao-nii? I want to see Onee-chan when she very first gets back, before she does anything else."

"We don't know when she'll get back," Ukyo said, irritated, though he'd already known that all his brothers would ask when she'd return. Of course they would, all of them had been waiting with baited breath for Ema's return.

"Awww, why not?" Wataru asked, pouting.

"Won't Ema need one of us to pick her up from the airport?" Tsubaki asked, wanting to be the first one to greet Ema when she came back. It had been hard when Ema first left. He was so used to being greeted by her every day when he arrived home. The house felt weirdly empty without Ema there, smiling and saying 'welcome home' as she worked on dinner.

"Maybe Ema's already made other arrangements," Masaomi suggested, wondering if Ema hadn't told Ukyo when she'd return because she didn't want everyone fighting over who would get to pick her up. He hoped that everything would be calmer now. Hopefully, his younger brothers had learned a lesson after everything that happened before.

"Let's just be glad that she'll be home soon," Kaname urged, trying to stop the twins before they got too riled up.

~.~

Fuuto closed his eyes in relief when he received the text from Masaomi that night that Ema was coming home soon. He was sitting a dressing room, about to go on stage. It had been months and they'd heard so little from Ema that Fuuto had begun to fear Ema wasn't planning on coming back. He'd already been making tentative plans to go to France and get her.

When the knock came on Fuuto's door letting him know that it was time, he put his trademark idol smile on his face. With this good news in his heart, his fans would get one heck of a show tonight.

~.~

Subaru sat in bed, staring at Ukyo's text for long minutes. He was happy that Ema was coming back and hoped that she'd had a good time in France. He and Ema had talked a little and she'd seemed to really enjoy the intership she had there.

Subaru would need to make plans to visit Sunrise Mansion once Ema got back. He hoped she'd be happy to see him.

~.~

"Guess what Tsubaki and Azusa," Natsume said to his cats after he received a text from his brother Azusa, "Ema is coming back soon. Do you think she'll come by and visit you two?"

Tsubaki meowed and twined himself around Natsume's legs. Natsume smiled down at his cat, happier than he'd been all summer. His heart sped up at the thought of seeing Ema again. The past three months had seemed to drag by. He was used to texting with her almost every week about some video game or another and had hated only receiving monthly emails from her. He selfishly hoped that Ema had thought of him while she'd been gone.

~.~

The next night, the Asahina brothers sat around the table for dinner while outside Ema exited a taxi. She paid the driver before wheeling her suitcase to the courtyard and pausing to look at Sunrise Mansion.

Ema felt an odd sense of déjà vu as she stood there, remembering when she stood in that same spot years ago before entering the mansion for the first time. She'd been so nervous and excited about meeting her new family and moving in with her brothers. Ema felt a pang of nostalgia for those days as she thought of how things had changed, but just because things were different now didn't mean that the lives of Ema and her family would be any less great than they had been before.

Finally, Ema went inside. She was grateful that she'd decided to take a taxi home without letting her family know when she'd be back. She hadn't wanted them to make a big deal of her return.

Quietly, Ema entered the fifth floor and saw her brothers eating dinner. It still made her a little sad that Louis, Subaru, and Iori were no longer there, but she was happy to see the rest of them and couldn't help smiling as Tsubaki and Yusuke argued about how terrible Yusuke's grades would be in college. France had been so quiet with just Ema, Louis, and Davet. Ema had missed the big family dinners and her brothers teasing and arguing with each other.

Ukyo noticed Ema first and immediately froze. The rest of the brothers noticed and turned to see what had caught his attention. "Um, hello," Ema said. "I'm back."

Wataru jumped up from his seat, the chair toppling over in his haste, and ran to Ema. "You're home!" He exclaimed as he wrapped her in a tight hug. "You're finally home! I don't ever want you to ever leave again."

Ema smiled and patted Wataru's head. "I can't promise that I'll never leave again, but I can promise that I'll always come home."

"Then take me with you next time," Wataru suggested, making Ema laugh.

Ukyo couldn't take his eyes off Ema as she spoke with Wataru. She wore her hair down and she looked so mature and beautiful. His heart ached at the sight of her and he wondered what all had happened to her in France. She had a quiet confidence about her that she hadn't had before.

Tsubaki's heart fluttered as he looked at Ema and he could hardly believe that she was actually here. He deeply regretted that he'd been part of the cause of Ema's pain before and hoped that he'd matured while Ema was away. He wanted to be able to truly be there for Ema, in whatever capacity that ended up being. Tsubaki glanced over at his twin and saw an expression similar to his own. Azusa undoubtedly felt the same way as Tsubaki.

Yusuke blushed as Ema sat down by him and he welcomed her home. He peered at her out of the corner of his eye, wondering if it was just his imagination that she'd become even more beautiful or if he just felt that way because it'd been so long since he'd seen her in person. He had a sinking feeling he'd have to watch other guys around her carefully while at university.

Masaomi smiled as conversation around the dinner table resumed as everyone asked Ema about Louis, Iori, and her time in France. Sunrise Mansion finally felt complete again with Ema back. The house had felt empty of life without her in it.

Ema felt at peace as the warmth of being home washed over her. She felt good about her decision to return to Japan and was excited to attend Meiji University and intern at Star City's new branch in Japan. She'd also spent a fair amount of time thinking about Hikaru's words, but she wasn't in a rush to act on them. She would only if the time and situation felt right. For now, Ema was just excited to start her life as an adult.

 **A/N:** Okay! I'll now be splitting off into multiple endings for the rest of the fanfiction. I'm only doing an ending for a couple of the brothers rather than all thirteen, but that's better than just having one ending, right?


	30. Yusuke

**A/N:** First is Yusuke! Simply because I wanted to start off with Ema attending Meiji for some reason. I'm also doing endings for Fuuto, Kaname, Masaomi, Natsume, and Tsubaki.

 **Yusuke**

Yusuke was excited as he and Ema took the train to Meiji University for their first day of college. Their school life was finally Fuuto-free again, and Sasakura would no longer be there either. Yusuke didn't know if those things increased his chances with Ema, but they certainly didn't hurt them.

Sadly, it only took until their second class for Yusuke's luck to turn sour.

"Masato-kun!" Ema exclaimed. "You're here too?" Yusuke was really starting to hate the name Masato. Did Ema have to exclaim the man's name every time they saw him?

"Yep," Masato said, grinning at Ema.

"The last I heard from you, you hadn't decided which university you were going to," Ema said, obviously happy to see her friend.

"Yeah, I tried to tell you that I made up my mind and chose Meiji, but I couldn't get ahold of you."

"Oh!" Ema exclaimed, putting a hand to her lips. In all the excitement of going to France, Ema had forgotten to tell Masato about it. "I was out of the country this summer," she explained. "And I didn't bring my phone with me since calls would be so expensive."

"That's okay," Masato brushed off, glancing at Yusuke. "So one of your stepbrothers is coming here too? Sorry, I don't remember your name."

"It's Yusuke," Yusuke said, trying to be nice. Masato did seem like he was a good guy. Or, at least, he would if Ema wasn't so fond of him. "And I don't blame you for not remembering, with their being thirteen of us and all."

"Well, it's nice to meet you again, Yusuke-kun," Masato said, holding his hand out for Yusuke to shake. Masato smiled at Yusuke as he shook Masato's hand. "I hope that the three of us have a great school year together."

~.~

"So are things better at home?" Masato asked Ema quietly three weeks later. It was the first time he'd been able to talk to Ema without Yusuke around. So far Masato liked the red-head. Yusuke was a bit awkward, but obviously had a good heart. Masato hoped that the rest of Ema's stepbrothers were as nice. He couldn't help worrying about Ema ever since he saw her with her stepbrothers on New Year's and the atmosphere had been so tense.

"Yes, they are," Ema said, giving Masato a small smile. "Things were really difficult for a while. There were some things that happened that caused conflict, and then I found out that I was adopted, which just made me feel worse, but things turned out all right in the end."

"Geez," Masato said, wide-eyed. "I'm sorry you went through such a tough time." Part of him wished that Ema felt like she could rely on him more and that she'd called him, but he understood that that simply wasn't Ema's way.

"It's okay," Ema said, still smiling. "Sometimes the tough times just make you stronger, and they can bring you closer with ones that you love too."

"You've got me beat in the maturity department," Masato said shaking his head. "I don't think I could react like that. I'm practically a kid compared to you."

"I don't think so," Ema disagreed with a laugh.

A few yards away, Yusuke's heart clenched at the sight of Ema and Masato laughing together. He wanted to know what they were talking about, but part of him was afraid to go over there. What if he was just becoming a third wheel to Ema?

~.~

So far, Ema was enjoying university and her internship. Things were quieter at home with all of her stepbrothers who had confessed to her keeping their distance romantically speaking. Ema wasn't sure if they'd given up, but she was grateful for the space they were giving her.

Ema's only concern with life at the moment was Yusuke. He seemed a little down to Ema, but whenever she asked what the problem was, he'd just shake his head with an unconvincing smile on his face and say that it was nothing. From Ema's perspective, she couldn't see what might be upsetting Yusuke. Things were going fairly well at school and Masato, Yusuke, and Ema spent a lot of time together both at school and outside of school. They'd do homework together, play video games, and go to movies.

Ema's concluded that something must be bothering Yusuke at his work, but she never heard him utter a word of complaint. She wished that he would open up to her about what was going on with him.

~.~

"That explosion scene with the train was awesome!" Masato exclaimed as he, Ema, and Yusuke walked out of the movie theater. "I totally thought that the bad guy was going to get away, and then the train flipped on top of him."

"I liked the scene with the meteor shower at the end the best," Ema said. "It was such a hopeful ending with everyone holding hands as they watched the stars shoot across the night sky."

Masato shook his head playfully. "It's just like a girl to like that scene the best with all the other cool things going on, don't you think, Yusuke-kun?"

"What?" Yusuke said, snapping out of his own thoughts. "Oh, yeah, I guess."

"Well, see you two on Monday," Masato said, before waving and walking away.

Ema glanced at Yusuke out of the corner of her eye as they walked down the street. With the sun already down, the air was a little chilly and Ema wrapped her arms around herself before asking, "Did you not like the movie, Yusuke-kun?"

"No, I liked it just fine," Yusuke said, staring at the ground as they walked.

"Then, is something else wrong?" Ema expected Yusuke's standard response that everything was fine, but instead he stopped walking. Ema continued a few more paces before stopping in surprise and turning to face Yusuke. "What is it, Yusuke-kun?"

Yusuke looked up at Ema, pain in his eyes as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Am I just a third wheel here?"

"What?" Ema asked in surprise.

"I'm I just a third wheel?" Yusuke asked again. "I feel like I'm just tagging along on your and Masato's dates."

Ema's eyes widened in surprise before she shook her head vehemently. "No, not at all, Yusuke-kun. I don't think of Masato-kun that way. I had no idea you were thinking that." Ema paused, wondering if that was what had been bothering Yusuke all this time. That couldn't be it, could it?

"Are you sure?" Yusuke asked. "The two of you get along really well. You're always happy to see him and he always makes you smile. I want—I want you to be with someone who makes you happy regardless of how that makes me feel."

"How that makes you feel?" Ema echoed in confusion.

Yusuke's face heat up at his indirect confession, but he decided that there was no reason to take it back now that it was already out. "I—I've always…" Yusuke shook his head, frustrated at his stuttering. He'd imagined this moment so many times and he always sounded better in his head.

Taking a deep breath, Yusuke looked Ema in the eyes and said, "From the very first time I saw you when we were kids, I wanted to get to know you. You were so cute and nice. That's why I was upset when I found out that you were my new stepsister. I didn't want us to be part of the same family. I was ticked off when I finally realized that my brothers were falling for you, because I saw all the things that are amazing about you way before they did."

Ema could do nothing but blink at Yusuke, she was in such shock at his confession. When she heard the confessions of her other stepbrothers, she'd been hurt that they changed from thinking of her as their sister to thinking of her as a woman, but her relationship with Yusuke had always been closer to that of best friends rather than of a brother and sister because of their closeness in age and them going to school together.

"I always wanted to tell you about my feelings," Yusuke went on, "but at first I held back because you didn't seem interested in dating anyone yet, and then everything happened with the family and…I couldn't. You were so upset that I knew I couldn't do that to you."

Ema's heart warmed that Yusuke cared enough for her that he'd kept his feelings to himself, despite being the one who'd been in love with her the longest. She found herself happy that the one who'd always been by her side—even going so far as to try to protect her by ignoring her throughout junior high—had always loved her.

She wondered how she would have reacted if Yusuke had been the first one to confess to her. What if he'd done it when they first entered high school, before the others seemed to develop feelings for her? Would Ema have felt as lost and confused as she did when her other stepbrothers confessed to her? She didn't think she would have. Yusuke had never tried to be an older brother to her like the twins, he'd never been a figure for her to look up to like Subaru, and he'd never been a confusing flirt who needed care and attention like Fuuto. He'd just been by her side looking after her.

"Anyway, like I was saying," Yusuke said, looking down at the sidewalk again, "I don't want to get in the way of you and Masato-kun if he makes you happy. That's all that I really want."

"Yusuke-kun," Ema whispered, tears coming to her eyes as she threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around Yusuke's neck.

"Huh—what?!" Yusuke exclaimed. His hands flew out of his pockets as he raised his arms awkwardly in the air, not sure what to do with them. Was this a pity hug because Ema was sorry she didn't want him around when she was with Masato? Or was she sorry that she couldn't return his feelings?

"I—It's okay," Yusuke comforted as he awkwardly patted Ema's back, loving the feel of her against him despite himself. "You don't have to feel bad."

"Feel bad about what?" Ema asked, pulling back enough to look into Yusuke's face.

"About not feeling the same as me," Yusuke explained. He smiled sadly. "That would have been great, but life doesn't always turn out like you want it to."

Ema stared at Yusuke uncomprehendingly, than shook her head. Yusuke thought he heard her mutter something that sounded like idiot before she grabbed his face in both hands and lifted onto her toes to kiss him. The kiss lasted for only a few seconds, but Yusuke thought they were probably some of the best seconds of his life.

Yusuke stared at Ema in awe for a moment before his shoulders slumped. "This is a dream, isn't it? I'm sleeping and I haven't actually confessed to you for real."

Ema laughed at the disappointed look on Yusuke's face. He looked like he truly believed he was only dreaming. "No, Yusuke-kun, we're both awake. I promise."

"Really?" Yusuke asked, looking more cheerful. Then he blushed and said, "If this is really real, then prove it."

"Okay," Ema agreed, then lifted onto her toes and kissed him again.

~.~

"Yusuke-kun," Tsubaki said with an unreadable look on his face as he faced off with Ema and Yusuke, his arms crossed over his chest. "You chose Yusuke."

"Yes," Ema said firmly, entwining her fingers with Yusuke's. They'd told Ukyo and Masaomi about their relationship first, a couple weeks after they became a couple. Ukyo had seemed shocked, but hadn't made much comment. Masaomi hadn't said anything for a while, and Ema feared he'd disapprove, but then he'd smiled and said that he thought it was a good choice and hoped the two of them would be happy together. Now they were telling Tsubaki and most everyone else would find out at dinner.

Yusuke could feel his face flushing and his heart felt like it would slam right out of his chest, but none of that was related to fear of telling Tsubaki, it was just that holding Ema's hand still had that much of an effect on him. Yusuke wouldn't back down against any of his brothers, no matter what they said or did.

"Isn't Yusuke-kun a bit…" Tsubaki started to say, obviously leading to something unflattering.

Ema interrupted to say, "Yusuke-kun is wonderful. He's always protected and looked after me at school. He's always thinking about me before himself and he's brave, and kind, and hardworking."

Tsubaki looked at Ema as though wondering if they were talking about the same person, but then he shook his head. "If this is what you want, Ema, then I'll support you. But be warned, Yusuke, if you hurt her, Azusa and I will demolish you."

"I know," Yusuke said, standing tall and still feeling inflated from Ema's compliments. "But I'd never do anything to hurt her."

A few moments later, the two were in Yusuke's room, grateful for how well that had gone. They both knew that the conversation could have gone very differently.

"About what you said out there…" Yusuke began.

"Yes, what is it, Yusuke-kun?" Ema asked, grabbing his hands and looking up at him.

"Well I…" Yusuke felt his face flame red and really hoped that he'd stop doing that someday soon. "It made me really happy. Is it okay if I kiss you?"

Ema smiled and leaned towards him. Relieved and still amazed that Ema chose him out of all the amazing guys that wanted her, Yusuke tenderly pulled Ema to him, cupping her cheek with one hand before kissing her.

Yusuke pulled back to hug Ema tightly. "I always want to be with you," he told her. "Not just through college, but forever."

Ema smiled, grateful that Yusuke had found the courage to confess his feelings to her.

 **A/N:** I feel like that last line is rather corny, but whatever. Next is Fuuto!


	31. Fuuto

**A/N:** *sigh* Laura Anders1 had a great idea for Azusa's ending and after reading it, I couldn't stop thinking about how it would play out. Plus, I feel really guilty giving Tsubaki an ending, but not Azusa, so Azusa is also getting an ending.

 **Fuuto**

Ema was so focused on her homework, she almost missed when Fuuto came home. She was halfway through her first semester of Meiji University and loving it. She especially loved that she shared classes with both Masato and Yusuke and that the three of them often did homework together. It made schoolwork more enjoyable.

"Welcome home, Fuuto-kun," Ema said, looking up from her laptop. Fuuto glanced at Ema and the moment she saw his face she asked, "What's wrong, Fuuto-kun?" Fuuto clearly looked upset and Ema couldn't imagine what would make him upset enough for him to show it on his face. He almost always hid his true feelings. He liked to say that people who couldn't hide what they were really thinking were idiots.

Fuuto paused on his way to the fridge and Ema wondered if he would refuse to tell her, or brush it off as nothing, then he gestured for Ema to follow him. "We can talk in my room."

Ema stood, closing her laptop and gathering her things onto a corner of the table before following Fuuto. Once in Fuuto's room, he climbed onto the bed and sat against the headboard, scooting over to make room for Ema. She hesitated for just a moment before sitting next to him.

"What happened?" She asked.

Fuuto sighed and leaned his head back against the headboard, staring at the ceiling. "The president of my agency said that he's willing to let me transition into becoming an actor if my acting for the drama I'm in right now is good enough."

"That's fantastic, Fuuto-kun!" Ema said, excited for him. For years he'd been telling Ema about his dream to become an actor, and she couldn't believe that he finally had a chance.

" _Not_ fantastic," Fuuto corrected in irritation, shaking his head. "I keep making mistakes and the president isn't happy with my performance. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be an actor after all."

Ema stared at Fuuto while she thought of what to say. He looked stressed, angry, and depressed all at once. "I think it's pretty obvious what you have to do, don't you?" Ema asked, raising her eyebrows.

"What?" Fuuto asked, turning to look at Ema.

"Obviously you need to straighten up, stop complaining, and not give up," she said sternly. Fuuto's eyes widened in surprise at Ema's tone. "This is your job, Fuuto-kun. Everyone feels pressure at their job sometimes. Just because you feel like things are tough right now is no reason for you to quit."

Fuuto's mouth gaped for a moment. "You—what would you know about work? All you have is an internship that you've only been doing for a couple months. You don't know what the real work world is like."

"I may not have much work experience," Ema admitted, "but I've seen our brothers under a lot of stress. Tsubaki and Azusa are under a lot of pressure whenever they do an anime for a popular manga and sometimes they struggle too, but they don't ever stop trying. And Masaomi and Ukyo both have difficult jobs where unexpected things often happen, but they continue to work hard every day. You, on the other hand, aren't used to pressure like they are because you don't take your job as an idol as seriously as our brothers take their jobs. You've only looked at your job as an idol as a stepping stone to become an actor and haven't really cared about it. Our brothers take their jobs seriously and that's why they experience pressure. None of them give up just because they mess up or encounter opposition. You wouldn't want to quit after experiencing pressure if you were taking your job seriously."

They sat in silence as they stared at each other, Fuuto in shock over Ema's words. He was used to Ema always being gentle and supportive of everything the Asahinas said. He'd expected her to give him sympathy, not a lecture.

Finally, Fuuto said, "You're right." This time, Ema's eyes widened in shock. She wondered if it was the first time Fuuto had ever said those words. "I haven't taken my job as a pop star seriously, but things are different now. This opportunity is really important to me, and I really want to go for it, even if I do suck right now."

Ema smiled. "There's no guarantee that you'll succeed with this drama, but you'll definitely fail if you stop trying. I know that you'd always regret it if you gave up and wonder what would have happened if you'd given your all to this project."

Fuuto found himself struck wordless again. _This_ was why he wanted Ema. Not because she was the prettiest, or the sexiest, or the smartest. She was different from all the other girls he'd met before. She just always knew what to say and when to say it. He couldn't imagine his path of becoming an idol without having had Ema by his side. He always wanted her there supporting him.

"It's cruel of you to scold your little brother when he's down," Fuuto chastised Ema.

Ema flushed and her eyes widened. "I—I'm sorry. I didn't mean—"

"Don't bother apologizing," Fuuto said, shaking his head. "I find your words motivating. I promise that I won't give up, no matter how hard things get."

"Good," Ema said, smiling again. "Then I expect to only hear reports about how hard you're working."

"Fine, fine," Fuuto agreed, laughing. "I don't know when you became such a hard task master, Ema-chan."

Ema, figuring that their conversation was over, was about to get up when Fuuto clamped his hand onto Ema's arm to stop her from leaving. "Fuuto-kun?" Ema asked, tilting her head.

Fuuto smirked at Ema. "You know, there's a question that I asked you months ago that you never answered for me. I'd like to get your answer today."

"What question?" Ema asked, trying to remember.

Her eyes widened as Fuuto got up on his knees and swung one leg over so that he was straddling her. He cupped her chin in his hand as he stared down at her. "I asked you if you would be affected by my touch if you thought of me as a little brother. Now, if Wataru were to kiss you on the cheek, I'm betting you would find it very brotherly, but if I were to do it…" Fuuto trailed off as he leaned down to kiss Ema.

Fuuto brushed his lips across Ema's cheek, then moved to her ear and whispered, "How does it feel when _I_ kiss your cheek, Ema?" Ema flushed as she felt Fuuto's hot breath against her ear.

"I—I…"

Fuuto smiled at Ema's stuttering and said, "If you can't figure it out, maybe you just need more examples." He laid a kiss below her ear before kissing his way down her neck. "Well?" Fuuto murmured against Ema's collarbone, "How do my kisses make you feel?"

"F-Fuuto-kun," Ema gasped, her head arching back and one hand coming up to tangle in Fuuto's hair as he sucked on her collarbone. Fuuto froze, his body flaming at Ema's reaction to him and the tone of her voice.

He pulled back to look at Ema's face, shocked. He'd expected her to do what she usually did, stutter and clumsily deny that she felt anything special when he touched her, despite her body's obvious reaction to him. Instead, he looked down to see Ema's cheeks touched with red and her eyes half-lidded. She looked so sexy that Fuuto found himself flushing at the sight. In a few moments he'd gone from being in complete control to being on the verge of losing control.

"Ema?" The question in his voice was obvious.

Ema's blush deepened as she looked up at Fuuto. "I—you're right. I do feel differently when you kiss me…when you touch me. The very first time you did, the night of your concert, I was so caught off guard, I couldn't think about it, didn't want to think about it. When I told you that I couldn't accept your feelings for me, everything that you said about my fears of hurting the family were right, and I denied my own feelings because of it."

"So…what changed your mind?" Fuuto asked.

"Hikaru-kun," Ema answered.

Fuuto scowled, irritated at hearing another man's name on Ema's lips at a time like this. "Hikaru?"

"He came to see me in France. He asked me if I could honestly say that I thought of all the Asahinas as my brothers with no other feelings attached, as well as some other things that made me think hard about how I felt and what I wanted. And Natsume-kun also said something that makes me reevaluate how I think of you—I see you as part of the family I belong to, but not as my brother."

"Good," Fuuto declared pushing Ema down onto the bed, "because I was never going to give up on making you see me as a man rather than as your little brother. _This_ I have always been serious about." He lowered himself on top of Ema and covered her lips with his own. Ema's hands came up to tangle in Fuuto's hair again. He gently bit her lower lip and when Ema opened her mouth, he slid his tongue inside, brushing it against hers.

~.~

A few weeks later, the final day of the shooting for Fuuto's drama came, the day when he would learn whether the president of his agency would switch him from the idol division to the acting division. Ema could barely stand it as she waited at home for Fuuto, anxious to hear the news. She was waiting inside his room, since that's where he'd told her to go.

When Fuuto finally opened the door, Ema immediately jumped up to see him…only to see an unreadable look on his face. "How did it go?" She asked nervously. "Did the president approve of you transitioning to become an actor?"

Fuuto shook his head and Ema slumped. "Oh, Fuuto," she said, walking to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Fuuto said, gently removing Ema's arms from him after returning the hug for a moment. "Right now, shouldn't you be telling me to learn from this and try harder in the future? This wasn't my first acting opportunity and it won't be my last. I'll continue to improve and will have to fail a lot more times than this to give up on becoming an actor."

"That's wonderful, Fuuto-kun," Ema said, her face beaming with pride as she smiled at him.

"And you'll stay by my side and support me through all of it?" Fuuto asked.

"Of course," Ema said, surprised that he'd asked. They hadn't told anyone else about their relationship yet, but it was more than settled that they two of them were together. It was a little hard to date Fuuto since he was gone so often, but Fuuto had proven devoted to the relationship. He often texted Ema to let her know where he was and when he couldn't be home he'd leave little gifts for her. Ema was surprised at how sweet and thoughtful a boyfriend Fuuto was proving to be.

Fuuto smirked as he grabbed Ema's hands and started walking backwards towards his bed. "If that's true than that means that you'll support me even when I fail." He fell back onto the bed, pulling Ema on top of him. "Doesn't that mean that you should help me to feel better?"

Ema blushed as she stared down at Fuuto. He was always the instigator when they kissed, but she didn't want to let him down, and she needed to be more forward and open about showing her feelings for him. Ema leaned down, fighting to get passed her embarrassment as she closed her eyes and brushed her lips against Fuuto's.

~.~

Later that night, Fuuto carefully grabbed his phone off his headboard, trying not to jostle Ema, who was sleeping in his arms. He opened up a group text, feeling it was passed time he let his brothers know just who Ema belonged to.

Your precious little sister has made the obvious choice for her boyfriend.

If any of you are stupid enough to lay your hands on her, I'll take her

away and be an actor in the U.S. instead of Japan.

Fuuto smirked as he hit send. That would get his message across loud and clear.


	32. Tsubaki

**Tsubaki**

Ema was into the fall of her first semester of college when Tsubaki caught her in the hall outside their rooms looking surprisingly hesitant for Tsubaki. Ema looked at him curiously, having never seen Tsubaki like this before. Normally he was always exuberant and pushy about things. Tsubaki was not one to hold back on anything.

"Hey, Ema," he began, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I have a promo event this weekend for a game coming out soon. It's a military game, but it's more lighthearted than most. It focuses more on the decisions of the commanders behind the scenes than on the actual battles. It's the first one like it, but the company's really excited about it, though it's a bit of a risk for them. I wanted to invite you to come."

He pulled a paper out of his pocket and held it out to Ema. "That has all the information of where it's at and when. You don't have to come if you don't want to…but it'd be really nice to have you there." Tsubaki gave Ema a tense smile as she slowly took the paper, then turned and went to his room.

Ema stared down at the paper, not really reading what it said as she considered what she should do. In the past she always went to everything of her brothers that she could. Graduations, sporting events, promo events, concerts, but she wondered if that was part of what led to the disaster of so many of her brothers falling for her. Maybe her trying to support them as their sister was misconstrued to be something else. Would it really be okay for Ema to go, or would it send a message that Ema didn't mean to send?

"You should go," a voice behind Ema said, making her jump.

Ema spun to see Azusa watching her. "Tsubaki has grown a lot since you left last spring," Azusa said. "And he's been working really hard. He wants you to see the results of it."

"Okay," Ema agreed a little hesitantly. "I'll go." Concern for causing a misunderstanding aside, Ema did always enjoy Tsubaki's and Azusa's events.

Azusa smiled and left. Ema wondered if Azusa's encouragement meant that he'd given up on his feelings for Ema, or if he was just so dedicated to Tsubaki that he'd push his own feelings aside.

~.~

On Saturday morning, Ema sat among a crowd made up of a surprising amount of women given that this was a military game. No one was on stage yet since the event didn't start for a few more minutes, but the room was still packed. Ema had checked out the trailer for the game, and it did look fun. There were also a lot of big name voice actors involved in the project.

"Can you believe that we get to see Asahina Tsubaki?" A girl in front of Ema asked her friend.

"I know!" The friend squealed. "He's so hot. And his voice is amazing. I own all the games he's voiced, though my favorites are the otome games."

"Right? Can't you just imagine him whispering the lines from those games in your ear?" Ema blushed as the girls giggled. Weren't they supposed to feel that way about the character from the game and not the actual voice actor?

The room quieted as the moderator came on stage. "Good morning, fans! How is everyone today?" The room erupted into yells and claps. "Good! Good! Before we start the discussion part of this event, we have a skit for you from the game with some of the voice actors. How does that sound?" Fans whooped and clapped again. "Fantastic! All right, for you today we have the hard-working and steady Lieutenants Toma and Jinji, who will be joined by the tactically brilliant, but socially inept Commander Hiro!"

The moderator backed away from the center of the stage of two men dressed in uniform walked on. "Toma-san," the first man said, "we've been best friends since we were boys. It is an honor to serve beside you."

"I feel the same way, Jinji-san," the second man said. "I am proud to call you my friend and my comrade." His face turned serious as he turned to his friend and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Do you remember the promise we made to each other when we first joined the military?"

"Yes," the man playing Toma said, nodding seriously. "If one of us dies, we both swore that the other would be the one to tell their family of their death. I would never let your mother find out from just a letter or a stranger."

"Thank you," the man playing Jinji said, before embracing his friend.

The next moment, Tsubaki stepped out wearing a highly decorated uniform and the crowd screamed. "Lieutenants," he said, "I commend your dedication to one another, but I must remind you that romantic relationships must not affect your performance on the battlefield."

The two men gave each other confused looks. "Sir," Toma began, "I think that you're misunderstanding—"

"Do not worry," Tsubaki as Commander Hiro interrupted, holding up a hand. "I know of both your stellar histories on the battlefield. I am lucky to have you both under my command and I'm sure you're both up to the task of putting duty before your love for each other."

"No, Sir," Jinji said. "It's not like that. Toma-san and I grew up together—"

"I do not need to know your history," Tsubaki interrupted again, turning to stare off into the distance. "I'm sure that your love story is a touching one, and serving together on the battlefield must have only made your relationship stronger." He whipped his head around to pin the Lieutenants with a piercing stare. " _But_ you must never forget why you are here. If you both serve to protect the other, that's fine. It's wonderful to have a reason to fight, but you must place your orders as your first priority. It is your solemn duty as lieutenants."

The crowd laughed as Commander Hiro continued to misunderstand the lieutenant's relationship and interrupted or explained away their every attempt to set the situation straight. After the scene finished, more voice actors as well as others involved in the production of the game came out for the discussion of how the game came to be, then for the question and answer portion of the event.

Ema was impressed with Tsubaki's amazing ability to entertain those around him. He was one of those people who seemed to be able to draw others' attention to himself naturally. Ema didn't think that anyone in the room had been able to tear their eyes away from Tsubaki during his performance, and during the other portions he continued to keep the audience engaged with his comments and answers. Tsubaki never seemed to tire of making other people happy.

When the event ended, Ema heard the girls in front of her talking again. "I wish that Tsubaki-san was my boyfriend. Then I'd get to hear his voice all the time," the first girl said.

"You should have asked if he had a girlfriend during the Q and A!" Her friend joked.

"Maybe we could catch him in the hall and ask!" The first girl said as they got up and filed out of the room.

Ema's brow furrowed as she thought about the girls' words and walked towards Tsubaki's dressing room. All they knew about Tsubaki was that he was a great voice actor and handsome. They didn't even know the best things about him. Like how hardworking and persistent he was. Tsubaki had chased after his dreams since he was a boy, despite the fact that part of his family opposed his becoming a voice actor. He also treasured his family and loved spending time with them.

When Ema knocked on the door, Tsubaki answered it with a nervous smile, having already changed back into his normal clothes. "How was it? Do you think it went well?" He moved out of the way to let Ema inside.

"It went great!" Ema said. "Everyone was really entertained during the whole thing and I think you did a great job with the skit at the beginning."

"Thanks," Tsubaki said, looking relieved. He scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I don't know that I've ever been this nervous at an event before."

"That's not like you," Ema said tilting her head. "Were you nervous because of the different style of this game?"

"No," Tsubaki said, looking at Ema in surprise. "I was nervous because you're here."

Ema's heart thumped at Tsubaki's words and she blushed as she stared at her hands, not sure what to say. She had been to plenty of Tsubaki's events, but she knew that things were a little different this time. Tsubaki wanted to show Ema who he'd grown as a man, not as a brother.

And that wasn't the only thing that was different, Ema thought with a pang. Whenever she came to Tsubaki's events before, he always greeted her afterwards by throwing his arms around her in an exuberant hug. Ema was used to Tsubaki being overly affectionate with her, and while she appreciated that Tsubaki was holding back for her sake, she did miss the hug she always got before when she went to his events.

Ema's mind jumped back to the words of the girls and she wondered what kind of a boyfriend Tsubaki would make, then she pushed those thoughts to the side. She came here to support Tsubaki's event, not for anything else.

~.~

A couple weeks later, Ema was in the kitchen early in the morning preparing her and Yusuke's lunches for school when Tsubaki walked by, dressed for work.

"You're leaving early today," Ema commented.

"There's an audition this morning and they asked me to come in first, which is hopefully a good sign," Tsubaki explained. "Wish me luck, will you? I'll do better for sure if you do."

"Good luck!" Ema chirped and Tsubaki smiled at her before turning to leave. "Wait!" Ema said impulsively and Tsubaki half turned to give Ema a questioning look. Ema blushed, but said, "Wish me luck too? I'm nervous about working with a new client today at Star City. I'd love to be able to channel your positive energy."

"Good luck, Ema-chan. I'm sure that you'll impress them. And here," Tsubaki held his hands to his chest before throwing them towards Ema. "I transferred some of my energy to you."

"Thanks," Ema said with a laugh. "Now I'm sure I'll be able to amaze them."

~.~

Two weeks later, Tsubaki found out that he got the part and Ema had been able to impress the client with her ideas of how to promote his singing career on social media. In light of those two events, Tsubaki suggested that the two of them go out to dinner to celebrate.

At dinner, Ema's heart ached as the two of them ate and talked about Ema's new client and Tsubaki's new anime. Whenever they went out to eat in the past, Tsubaki always insisted that Ema sit by him because he wanted to be close to her. But today they were sitting across from each other. The distance between Ema and Tsubaki was becoming more and more painful for Ema to bear. She hated Tsubaki keeping himself at arm's length from her.

While still being engaged in conversation about Tsubaki's new coworkers for his current anime, Ema thought again about what kind of boyfriend Tsubaki would make. She'd thought about it a couple of times since his promo event and she'd come to the conclusion that Tsubaki would be a fun, loving, and caring boyfriend. Dating him would always be exciting and you'd always know how much he cared about you.

Ema had always felt that any girl who dated any of her brothers would be a lucky girl, but the girl who dated Tsubaki…would be extra lucky.

When they arrived home, Tsubaki walked Ema to her bedroom door. Ema was about to wish Tsubaki good night when he paused, stuffing his hands in his pockets and staring at the floor. Ema waited, wondering what was wrong. Eventually, Tsubaki lifted his head and said, "I want you to know that I'm trying hard to respect the distance you asked for, but I still love you."

He shrugged helplessly and turned to go. Ema said, "Don't," the word leaving her lips before she could stop it.

"Don't what?" Tsubaki asked, turning and looking confused.

Ema blushed. "Don't respect the distance between us. I don't want you to."

Tsubaki stared at Ema, dumbfounded. He took slow, measured steps until he stood right in front of Ema. "You have to be absolutely sure before saying something like that, because words like that will make me lose control."

"I—I am sure," Ema said, staring up into Tsubaki's face. "I miss you, Tsubaki-kun. I want—" Ema's words were cut off when Tsubaki's lips crashed against hers. Ema inhaled sharply as Tsubaki pushed Ema against her door.

The situation felt similar to the first time that Tsubaki had kissed Ema. And just like before, Ema could hardly think. She could never think straight when Tsubaki touched her like this. But unlike last time, this time Ema tangled her fingers in Tsubaki's hair, loving the feel of him so close to her. She loved Tsubaki's passion, she loved his exuberance in showing affection, and she'd missed it so much.

Tsubaki slowly ran his hands down Ema's sides, squeezing Ema's hips. Ema moaned against his lips and Tsubaki fumbled for the doorknob of Ema's room. It opened and Ema stumbled back, Tsubaki following her. Tsubaki wrapped his hands around the backs of Ema's thighs, hoisting her up. Ema wrapped her legs around Tsubaki's waist, her hands tangled in his hair as she kissed him.

Tsubaki pushed the door closed before carrying Ema to the bed. Tsubaki set her down and held himself above her, finally separating his lips from hers. Ema made a sound of protest and the two of them stared at each other, both breathing heavy. "I want to hear you say the words," Tsubaki said in husky voice, tracing Ema's lips. "Tell me."

"I love you, Tsubaki-kun," Ema whispered. "I want to be with you and I want you to be mine."

Tsubaki's head dropped to Ema's shoulder as he let most of his weight rest on top of her. "I'm so relieved," he whispered, turning his head to kiss Ema's neck. "I love you so much, I didn't know what I was going to do if you chose someone else."

Ema smiled as she wrapped her arms around Tsubaki, laying one hand on his head. "I don't want anyone but you," she promised.

Tsubaki kissed his way along Ema's collarbone before moving up her neck. Ema blushed and arched her neck to give Tsubaki more room. "My only regret," Tsubaki said in Ema's ear before pulling back to look down at her, "is how sad this will make Azusa. We have to tell him first. I don't care when everyone else finds out, but we have to tell Azusa tomorrow."

"Of course," Ema agreed. "I think that Azusa will be happy for you. It might be hard for him, but he was the one who encouraged me to go to your promo event and see how much you've grown."

"He was?" Tsubaki asked in surprise.

"Yes," Ema assured him. "Azusa is always looking out for you and wants you to be happy."

"Nothing makes me happier than you," Tsubaki whispered, lowering his lips back down to Ema's.

 **A/N:** And now Azusa will get his turn! So I don't have to feel bad about Ema choosing Tsubaki over Azusa. The twins make everything so complicated.


	33. Azusa

**Azusa**

"What's wrong, Ema-chan?" Azusa asked as he came home to find Ema sitting at the table, one hand pushed into her hair as she stared at her laptop in frustration.

"Oh, Azusa-kun, welcome home," Ema said, giving him a distracted smile. "I'm just…trying to figure out something for work."

"Is it anything I can help with?" Azusa asked, coming to stand by Ema.

Ema sighed and shook her head, bringing up a video for Azusa to watch. "Look at this," she said as she hit play. The video showed a popstar lashing out at a fan, throwing his poster and marker on the ground and yelling at him. Mizu had debuted last year and she was already well known as a diva. "This video has gone viral and Star City is working to do damage control for Mizu-san. My manager asked me to brainstorm some idea of how to spin this, but the only explanations or excuses I can come up with are lies. I like a lot of the work that Star City does, but I don't feel right about doing something like this. Excuses shouldn't be made for Mizu-san. She did something wrong and she should apologize. Fuuto-kun would never treat a fan like that, regardless of how he really felt."

"Then maybe that's what you need to tell your manager," Azusa suggested, taking the seat next to Ema.

"What?" Ema asked in surprise. She was pretty sure that her manager hadn't had an apology by Mizu in mind when he asked Ema to brainstorm ideas of how to help fix this mess. "I don't know if that's what Star City wants to hear."

"Could you live with any other decision?" Azusa asked her seriously. "I don't think that you could work for a company that excused the bad behavior of a star, or made up lies to cover it up. It's just not who you are, Ema. Just talk about how highly the fans will think of a popstar willing to admit that she did something wrong. A lot of people have a bad image of Mizu-san because of how she acts. If she were to deliver a public apology, some people might change their opinion of her and she might even gain new fans."

"You're right," Ema said, perking up and looking determined. "I think that's a good idea. And if Star City doesn't like the idea and wants to lie instead, then maybe they're not a company I want to work for after all. Thanks, Azusa-kun."

Azusa's heart skipped a beat at the smile that Ema gave him. She had helped him so many times, he was grateful that he was finally able to help her in a small way. He wished that she'd open up to him like this more. She usually kept her troubles all to herself. "I'm happy to help," he assured her. "I want you to always come to me with your troubles." He tried not to hope that Ema opening up to him was a sign that her feelings for him might be changing.

~.~

Ema was excited to tell Azusa how his suggestion had gone over at Star City a week later, but those thoughts flew out of Ema's head when Azusa walked into the living room with a pained look on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Are you okay, Azusa-kun?" Ema asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Azusa said, giving Ema a tight smile.

"Are you sure?" Ema asked. "You don't look like you feel very well."

"It's just a headache and stiff neck," Azusa argued, shaking his head. "I must have slept funny last night. I'm sure I'll be fine after taking some Advil."

"Okay," Ema said, still looking concerned. "But take it easy today, okay? You don't want to make your neck worse."

"Sure," Azusa agreed, giving Ema a more genuine smile this time. "In a couple hours I'll probably have forgotten all about my headache."

~.~

Two days later, Azusa looked flushed when he walked into the kitchen in the morning.

"Azusa-kun," Ema said in concern, "I thought you said you just had a headache, but it looks like you're sick. Maybe you should stay home from work today."

"It's fine," Azusa brushed off, opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of orange juice. "I think I'm just coming down with the flu. It's not a big deal."

Ema frowned and stepped up to Azusa, putting her hand on his forehead. Azusa blushed and moved back a step, surprised at the touch. "You feel pretty warm to me, Azusa-kun. I think you have a fever."

"I feel fine," Azusa said, gently removing Ema's hand from his forehead. "Besides, a lot of people are relying on me at work. If I don't go in, it holds up shooting for the entire anime. I can't afford to take time off work."

"You won't get better if you don't rest," Ema argued, crossing her arms and looking at Azusa in stern concern. "You don't want to get worse. Then you'll have to take even more time off work. It's better to rest early and get better faster than to wait for the point when you're forced to stay home because you're too sick to go anywhere."

"It's just the flu, Ema-chan. I can go to work a little sick." Azusa held up his orange juice to show Ema. "Look, I'm taking vitamin C and I promise that I'll go to bed early tonight, okay? I can still take care of myself while fulfilling my responsibilities at work."

"Okay," Ema agreed reluctantly, willing to let the issue go for now since Azusa seemed like he wouldn't budge. She'd have to keep an eye on him and see if he got any worse.

~.~

The next couple days, Ema noted that Azusa seemed to be doing better, but when Ema stepped outside of her room Monday morning and saw Azusa, he looked even worse. "Azusa-kun, I think that you—" Ema cut herself off with a gasp as Azusa stumbled. Ema ran forward and grabbed Azusa's arm, wrapping it around her shoulders. Ema struggled under Azusa's weight, but managed to keep him from falling.

"Azusa-kun?" Ema asked in concern as he leaned most of his weight against her. She gently lowered them to the floor before cupping Azusa's face, staring into his eyes. "I think you need to see a doctor." His eyes weren't focusing and his face felt really hot. "Your fever's gotten worse."

"I'm only red because you're touching me," Azusa argued, then his eyes widened in surprise and he knocked Ema's hands away. "I mean—" Azusa shook his head, holding one hand to his forehead. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. I'm not thinking very clearly. I just got dizzy, that's all."

At this point, Ema thought that her face probably looked as flushed as Azusa's. "It—it's okay," Ema stuttered, "but I really think that you should see a doctor, Azusa-kun. Or at least talk to Masaomi-kun. You've been sick for a week now and even after resting over the weekend you're still not better."

"It's just a lingering flu," Azusa argued as he stood up. "I appreciate your concern, but it's really not anything to worry about. I don't have time to be sick so long as I'm still capable of going to work."

"Work isn't more important than your health," Ema argued, standing up and moving to block Azusa. "If you're not going to stay home, you should at least go see the doctor after work. Then you're not inconveniencing anyone."

"Doctors can't help with the flu, Ema. Tsubaki-kun and I are working on a job together later today. I'll ask him to pick up some medicine for me, okay? You worry too much." He placed a gentle hand on Ema's head and smiled at her before walking away.

~.~

That night, the twins were lingering in the living room talking about the anime they were working on together while Ema did the dishes. Ema kept throwing concerned glances at Azusa, wondering how he'd done during the day.

Ema was scrubbing a particularly stubborn stain on a plate (Ema and Ukyo both felt that dishwashers never got dishes that clean, so they had to be scrubbed first) when Ema heard Tsubaki cry, "Azusa!"

Ema jerked her head up and dropped the plate. It clattered to the bottom of the sink as Ema saw Azusa slump to the floor. "Azusa!" Ema screamed, running around the counter. Tsubaki was kneeling next to Azusa, shaking him. "Masaomi!" Ema cried. "Masaomi-kun!"

Masaomi came running from down the hall. "What is it?" He asked before his eyes fell on Azusa. "Ema, call an ambulance," he ordered.

Ema nodded and ran for her cell phone on the kitchen table. Beside Azusa, Tsubaki sat looking horrified as Masaomi checked Azusa's pulse. "This is my fault," Tsubaki whispered as he stared at his twin. "I just accepted Azusa's word that he was okay. I should have made him take better care of himself."

"It's not your fault, Tsubaki," Masaomi said. "Azusa is going to be fine."

"You don't know that!" Tsubaki cried. "Azusa has been sick for days and we don't know what's wrong. Azusa wouldn't collapse like this from just the flue! And he won't wake up. Why won't he wake up, Masaomi?"

Masaomi stared at Tsubaki helplessly. "I don't know, Tsubaki, but we'll get him to the hospital soon."

"It's not just your fault," Ema said tearfully, standing behind Tsubaki and putting a hand on his shoulder. "I should have pushed harder to make Azusa-kun go to the doctor. I knew he wasn't okay, but I let him tell me that everything was fine." Tsubaki reached back and clung to Ema's hand, his eyes still on Azusa.

~.~

Ema clutched her hands tightly together as she rested her elbows on her knees, staring at the floor of the hospital waiting room. Kaname sat beside Ema, having been the one who drove her down. Masaomi rode down with Azusa in the ambulance. Tsubaki had been too shocked and upset to come with Ema and Kaname.

"Maybe we should go home," Kaname suggested, rubbing Ema's back.

"But we don't know if Azusa-kun is okay yet," Ema argued, turning worried eyes to Kaname.

"I know," Kaname sighed. "But we don't know when they're going to find out and it's late, Ema. There's nothing we can do for Azusa right now and it won't help him for you to be exhausted."

"Let's just a wait a few more minutes," Ema begged.

"Okay," Kaname agreed, sitting back in his chair.

Soon, a doctor came out. "Are you two with Asahina?" He asked.

"Yes," Ema said jumping to her feet.

Kaname stood beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. "How is Azusa doing?" He asked.

The doctor sighed and the concerned look on his face was enough to bring Ema to tears. She moved closer to Kaname, clutching at him as she dreaded what the doctor might say.

"Your brother has meningitis," the doctor declared. "If it's caught early, it's easy enough to cure, but it seems like Azusa-san may have had it for a while. We'll do the best we can, but there's no guarantee."

"Are you saying Azusa might die?" Ema choked out.

Kaname's eyes widened and he pulled Ema closer to him, wrapping his other arm around her.

"It is a possibility," the doctor admitted. "We're doing everything we can and we'll keep you posted. Right now, it could go either way."

Ema turned and buried her face in Kaname's chest, sobbing. How was she supposed to tell Tsubaki or Natsume this? What would it be like to lose your triplet? Especially for Tsubaki. Azusa was his other half and he'd probably never stop blaming himself if Azusa died. Neither would Ema for that matter.

Ema texted Natsume as Kaname drove them home. She figured he wouldn't get the text until the next morning since it was almost midnight, but to her surprise, he texted back a few minutes later asking how Ema was doing.

Ema stared at the text blindly. How was she doing? She was terrified of what it would do to the family to lose one of their brothers. She was terrified of losing Azusa, but what all did that fear entail? With Azusa's room being next to Ema's, he was often the first or last person Ema saw everyday. Ema couldn't imagine their quiet good mornings and their gentle good nights never happening again.

The quiet conversations that Ema and Azusa had the few times the two of them were alone meant a lot to Ema. Azusa was always fun and relaxing to talk to. He had a quality about him that the rest of their brothers didn't have. He was attentive and Ema always felt like she had his complete attention when they talked. Ema…wanted Azusa in her life. She wanted him in her life in a bigger way than he had been. She wanted to spend more time with just the two of them and learn more about him. He was always so reserved, catering to Tsubaki's desires rather than acting on his own. Why hadn't Ema made more of an effort to get to know just him?

~.~

Ema slowly sat in the chair next to Azusa's hospital bed. He was still unconscious two days later and had an IV hooked up to him. The doctors said they expected Azusa to make it, but they still couldn't tell for sure.

Tears sprang to Ema's eyes at the sight of Azusa looking so helpless. It was like he couldn't even do anything to fight to get better. The doctor's claimed Azusa's body was fighting the meningitis, but how could that be when he was so deeply unconscious? It was heartbreaking for Ema to see him like this.

Ema had been thinking the past two days that she hadn't given as much thought to Azusa's confession to her as some of her other stepbrothers because he hadn't been as pushy and hadn't troubled her like the others had. Azusa had been more respectful and just told Ema his feelings once. She wished that she had paid more attention to Azusa's feelings. Also unlike the others, Azusa had told Ema why he was in love with her. Ema remembered him saying that he fell for Ema because she was always supporting him, and that he wanted to support Ema in the same way. None of the others had said that.

Azusa hadn't just thrown his feelings at Ema, he explained them and where they came from. He told Ema the kind of relationship he wanted with her.

"Please wake up," Ema whispered, taking Azusa's hand in her own. If felt unnaturally cold. "Please," Ema begged, resting her forehead on the hand that she held. "I need to talk to you and tell you how I feel. You can't leave me, Azusa-kun."

~.~

The third day Azusa was in the hospital, Ema was at work when she received a text from Kaname that Azusa had woken up. Ema explained to her manager that she had a family emergency and had to leave before she ran for the train station.

Ema was out of breath when she arrived at the hospital. She stood outside Azusa's room for a moment, catching her breath, then slowly went inside, afraid that she'd find out that Kaname had been wrong and Azusa was still unconscious. Instead she found Azusa sitting up in bed, alert with his glasses on.

"Azusa-kun!" Ema cried, elated. Without really being aware of what she was doing, Ema ran to Azusa, grabbing him and kissing him on the lips.

Azusa froze, his eyes widening in shock. Had he woken up in an alternate universe where Ema was his girlfriend? Ema's next actions answered his question as she pulled back with a red face and stuttered, "S—sorry. I—I wasn't thinking. I was so happy to see you and I was afraid you'd die and—" Azusa could barely keep track of what Ema was saying as the word why ran through his head. Why had Ema kissed him? Why was she apologizing for it? Why, why, why?

"Calm down, Ema," Azusa finally said, gripping Ema's shoulders when it became apparent she wasn't going to stop babbling. "I—it's okay. I'm not upset." Why in the world would he be upset about the woman he loved kissing him? But why had she done it? Was it just relief at seeing him alive? Would she have kissed any of her stepbrothers in the same situation?

"Are you okay?" Ema asked, clutching Azusa's hands on her shoulders. "Kaname just told me that you woke up, he didn't say anything else."

Azusa didn't want to talk about that. He wanted to talk about Ema kissing him. How was he supposed to focus on anything else? "I'm fine," he told her. "The doctor said that the danger has passed, though I still have to stay in the hospital for a few days."

"Thank goodness," Ema said, closing her eyes and holding a hand to her heart as she sat on the edge of Azusa's bed. "I was so afraid I'd lose you."

Azusa's heart jumped at the word 'I'. Ema hadn't said that _we'd_ lose you, she'd said _I._ As in, maybe Azusa was precious to her as more than just a brother.

"Azusa, I…" Ema started and then paused. Azusa stared at her hopefully, praying that Ema was going to say what he thought she might say. And she called him Azusa. Just Azusa. He wasn't sure if she'd ever done that before. "I love you," Ema whispered, staring into Azusa's eyes. "I want you by my side. Like you said before, I want us to support each other."

Azusa stared at Ema in amazement. He really hoped this wasn't a hallucination/fantasy caused by the drugs he was on. He figured it couldn't be when a noise at the door drew his attention. Tsubaki stood there, looking both concerned and sad. Any fantasy of Azusa's with Ema wouldn't include his twin.

"I heard that you woke up," Tsubaki said. "I wanted to make sure that you were okay. And apologize for not making you go to the doctor."

"It's not your fault," Azusa said. "Or Ema's fault. Though next time, I promise I'll listen to you guys."

"If you don't, we'll tie you up and drag you here against your will, right Ema?" Tsubaki asked.

Ema nodded firmly and then there was awkward silence. "Well, I guess congratulations are in order for you two," Tsubaki said. "I can't deny that I'm sad, but I'm happy for you, bro. And for Ema. I hope that the two of you are amazingly happy together."

Azusa blinked, thinking again that maybe this _was_ a fantasy. His thoughts were interrupted when Ema looked down with a blush and said, "Oh well, Azusa-kun hasn't actually said that he wants to be with me too. Maybe his feelings have changed."

"Not a chance," Azusa and Tsubaki said at the same time. The twins smiled at each other and Tsubaki said, "I'll leave the two of you to it. You and I can catch up later, Azusa." He waved and then was gone.

Ema stared down at her hands, feeling shy suddenly, though she'd been desperately waiting/hoping for Azusa to wake up.

"Ema," Azusa said gently. Ema turned and Azusa cupped Ema's cheek, pulling her closer to him. Ema closed her eyes as they kissed again. Azusa curled an arm around Ema's waist, pulling her even closer.

Suddenly, Ema pulled back with a gasp. Azusa looked at her in concern, wondering what he'd done wrong. "We shouldn't kiss while you're in the hospital," Ema said. "You're still recovering. We should wait until you get better and can come home."

"But kissing you gives me energy," Azusa argued, grabbing Ema's hand and slowly pulling her closer. "I need you to help me speed up my recovery. Would you really deny me that?"

Ema smiled and shook her head, giving into Azusa demands and letting him pull her back into his arms.

 **A/N:** Masaomi's chapter is next.


	34. Masaomi

**Masaomi**

"Waaa! Fresh air is the best," Wataru said, throwing his arms wide and inhaling deeply. "I wish that Mao-nii could have come hiking with us today rather than having to work."

"You wish that Masaomi was everywhere you went," Yusuke said, passing Wataru on the trail. "You're in junior high now, you should try being a little more independent."

"I'm independent," Wataru huffed, putting his hands on his hips. "I make my own lunch for school once a week."

"Wow," Yusuke said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Guess that means that you'll be ready to move out soon."

"You guys, don't fight," Ema said, following along behind them. "Especially not in front Masato-kun." Ema, Masato, and Yusuke had been planning this hike all week, and when Wataru found out, he insisted on coming. While Ema hadn't minded, Yusuke had been angry and refused to let him come. Then Ukyo got involved and declared that Wataru needed fresh air and should go with them.

"It's okay," Masato said, walking next to Ema. "Siblings fight all the time. What would be really weird was if they always got along. I'm sure that it's hard with there being such an age difference between Wataru-kun and Yusuke-kun. Do you remember when Haruka-chan used to throw mud at me?"

Ema giggled. "Yes. Every time she got mad at you she'd try to lure you outside so she could either push you in the mud or attack you with it. And then she'd always tell your mom that you got dirty all by yourself."

"Who's Haruka-chan?" Wataru asked, turning to look at Ema and Masato rather than watching the trail ahead.

"Haruka-chan is my big sister," Masato explained. "And she bullied me a lot when we were little."

"Your big sister threw mud at you?" Wataru asked, wide-eyed as his gaze moved to Ema. "My onee-chan would never do something like that. She always—"

"Wataru, look out!" Ema cried, pointing in front of Wataru. Wataru turned, but not in enough time to realize that the trail curved. With one foot already in the air over the steep embankment that led down to a river, Wataru lost his balance and fell forward.

Yusuke was just turning back to see what was happening behind him when Ema lunged for Wataru, trying to grab him and stop him from falling into the swift rapids of the river. Ema grasped the back of Wataru's arm, but the weight of him pulled Ema over.

Ema pulled Wataru close to her, shielding him as they slid down the embankment. Twin cries of "Ema!" echoed from the trail as Masato and Yusuke watched them fall.

Thankfully, the two skidded into a thick bush, stopping them from sliding into the river. Ema breathed a sigh of relief as she stared at her little brother in her arms. "Wataru-kun? Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Wataru said weakly, barely daring to peek through his closed eyelids. When he realized that they'd stopped and were safe, he turned to look at Ema. He was about to thank her for saving him when his eyes went wide and he gasped. "Onee-chan! Your arm!"

"My arm?" Ema asked, turning to see what Wataru was looking at. While one of Ema's arms was wrapped around Wataru, the other arm had caught on a small, dead tree right above them. Or, more accurately, the tree was caught _in_ Ema. The tip of a sharp branch was inside Ema's arm and small trickles of blood dripped from the puncture wound. The moment Ema saw it, the pain hit. Her eyes widened in horror and she was pretty sure she would have screamed if not for the thought that doing so would scare Wataru.

A moment later, Masato appeared with Yusuke right behind him. Masato paled when he saw Ema's arm, but he immediately reached for her, warning, "This is going to hurt, Ema-chan." Ema shut her eyes and grit her teeth, but could still feel the branch leaving her arm and she hissed in pain.

"What happened?" Yusuke demanded before he saw Ema's arm bleeding. With the branch tip no longer inside her arm, blood pumped more freely. "Ema!" Yusuke exclaimed, the panic in his voice clear.

"It's okay," Masato said, sounding mostly calm as he helped Ema to her feet. "The hospital isn't that far. We'll get you there soon. Yusuke, give me your jacket so I can wrap Ema's arm." Yusuke quickly took off his jacket and tossed it to Masato, who tied it tight around Ema's arm.

"You take care of Wataru-kun," Masato instructed Yusuke. "I'm going to get Ema to the hospital as soon as possible." Masato didn't think that Ema was in real danger of blood loss or anything else, but he didn't know for sure and it looked really painful. He just wanted to get Ema to the hospital immediately. If they had to wait for Wataru to get down the mountain too, he would slow them down and it would take even longer to get to the hospital.

Yusuke wanted to argue with Masato that he would take Ema to the hospital, but they had come in Masato's car and Yusuke could hardly ask Masato to take care of Wataru for him.

"I'll come back to pick you guys up after I take Ema to the hospital," Masato promised as he helped Ema climb up the embankment.

"Don't worry about us," Yusuke said, helping Wataru to stand and checking his little brother for any scrapes. "I'll just call one of our brothers to come get us. You take care of Ema."

"Okay," Masato agreed, giving Yusuke a single nod before he and Ema hurried back down the trail, Ema's hand clutching her opposite arm. Masato noted Ema's pale face and tried to hurry her faster.

~.~

When they reached the hospital, a nurse immediately took Ema back, telling Ema that first they'd need to make sure the tree hadn't left any bark or other bits inside her, and then they would need to evaluate how much damage had been done and whether Ema would just need stiches or surgery in case any nerves had been damaged.

"I want Dr. Asahina," Ema said as she stumbled after the nurse, feeling sick to her stomach because of the pain. She felt selfish and childish asking for Masaomi to be brought when he was undoubtedly doing something else important. But Ema had rarely needed medical attention in her life. She'd never had a broken bone or stiches and she was scared. Plus, her arm hurt and she felt miserable. She wanted the comfort of knowing that it was Masaomi working on her.

"Dr. Asahina?" The nurse asked in confusion.

"He—he's a pediatrician here," Ema said. "But he should be able to take care of this. I want Dr. Asahina to take care of my arm."

"I know who he is," the nurse assured Ema, still surprised that someone was requesting Dr. Asahina for something like this. She wouldn't be surprised for one of his patients to request him if they needed stitches, but this young woman was too old to be one of Dr. Asahina's patients. "I'll go see if he's available."

"Thank you," Ema said sincerely.

~.~

"Dr. Asahina," a nurse called lightly, knocking on the open door of the exam room he was in.

Masaomi had just finished examining a patient and was expecting his next one in fifteen minutes. "Yes?" He asked.

"There's a patient in need of at least stiches, if not something more drastic, and she's requesting that you take care of it for her."

Masaomi's eyebrows knit together in concern, wondering which of his patients had hurt themselves. Little Rae-chan liked to climb trees and was often getting scrapped up from her adventures. "Who is it?"

"Um, it's a young woman named Hinata Ema," the nurse answered. "Maybe she's a former patient of yours? She's definitely too old to be your patient right now. Doctor?!" The nurse exclaimed in concern as Dr. Asahina paled and stumbled backwards, grabbing onto the exam table to keep his balance.

"Ema?" He asked, as if hoping that the nurse would tell him that he'd heard her wrong.

"Yes, Hinata Ema. She came in just a few minutes ago."

Dr. Asahina seemed to visibly collect himself as he pushed away from the table. "Tell me what happened while you take me to her. And ask Dr. Rao to cover my patients while I'm gone."

~.~

Masaomi hoped he didn't look as pale as he felt as he walked into the exam room with Ema. His heart clenched painfully at the sight of Ema lying on the exam room table, her hair plastered to her face with sweat and a grimace of pain on her face.

"Masaomi-kun," she greeted when she saw him, the relief on her face plain, though the pain never left her eyes. "I'm sorry to ask this, but could you please take care of my arm? I want it to be you."

Bile rose in Masaomi's throat at the thought of seeing Ema's wound. True, he'd come far in overcoming his fear of blood, but seeing blood on a patient wasn't the same as seeing blood on the woman he loved. Still, Masaomi's heart skipped a beat at Ema's words and he knew there was no way he could refuse her request. "It's okay, Ema," he assured her. "It's no trouble for me to have another doctor look after my patients for a while, and I'm much better with blood than I used to be." At least he could use this opportunity to show Ema how much he'd grown thanks to her help and support.

The nurse removed the temporary bandage from Ema's arm and Masaomi's head spun at the sight. Just hearing the story of the branch piercing Ema's arm had been bad enough, but having to see it…Masaomi shook those thoughts off as he ordered the nurse to anesthetize Ema and went to work. Ema needed him. That meant he couldn't think about anything else right now.

~.~

Ema didn't know how much later it was that she came to, but she woke up to an empty room and a white bandage covering her arm. Ema breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that it was over and the pain in her arm had become only a dull ache. The pain would probably get worse as her anesthesia wore off, but for now, Ema would take what she could get.

She looked around and was surprised to see a pretty young woman standing tentatively in the doorway. The woman was well-dressed, so couldn't be a nurse.

"Hi," Ema said as she carefully sat up in her bed. "Can I help you with something?"

"Oh, not really," the woman said, walking into the room. "I just heard that the stepdaughter of Asahina Miwa was here and since I happened to be here checking on some of the medical supplies donated by my family, I wanted to come by and say hello. I am Uhara Keiko, the daughter of one of Miwa-san's business associates."

"Oh," Ema said in surprise, trying to straighten her posture and hoping that she looked at least somewhat presentable. "I'm Hinata Ema, it's nice to meet you." Ema did her best to give a little bow from her seated position.

Keiko bit her lip to stop herself from giggling at Ema's attempts to be polite even from a hospital bed. The young girl seemed as delightful as Miwa made her out to be. "I hope that you're doing okay," Keiko said. "I'm not sure what happened other than that you needed minor surgery."

"Oh, it's nothing too big," Ema said, glancing at her bandage. "I just got hurt while hiking with some of my brothers and a friend."

Kieko nodded sympathetically. "It's nice that you could have your older stepbrother take care of you. He's a very good man."

"Yes he is," Ema agreed, before tilting her head and asking, "Do you know Masaomi-kun?"

Kieko blushed and said, "We had an arranged marriage meeting once, but he refused me because he was already in love with someone. Did he ever end up with her?"

Ema stared at Kieko in shock. Of course she remembered Masaomi's arranged marriage meeting, but he hadn't said a word about refusing it because he was in love with someone. He just said that he refused it because of Ema and Wataru.

Kieko tsked and shook her head. "From your reaction I guess he didn't. He told me that he'd yet to tell the woman he loved how he felt. I hope he hasn't lost all chances with her by keeping his feelings a secret." Kieko's phone rang and she glanced at the caller before saying, "I have to take this. It was nice meeting you, Ema-san."

"Nice to meet you, too," Ema called as Keiko left the room. She stared at the empty doorway to the room, still in shock over Kieko's words. Masaomi was in love with someone? Or at least, he had been as of two years ago. Why hadn't he done anything about it? Guilt burned inside Ema as thought of Masaomi ignoring his feelings so that he could take care of her and Wataru. That wasn't right. Masaomi deserved to be happy with the one that he loved.

Masaomi walked in a few moments later, relieved to see Ema awake and sitting up, though everything with her arm had gone very well. "Ema, how are you feeling?" He asked, stopping next to Ema's bed.

Ema stared down at her bed, too guilty to look at Masaomi as she asked, "Are you in love with someone, Masaomi-kun?"

"Wh-what?" Masaomi stuttered, taken completely off guard by Ema's question. He felt himself blush as he became completely tongue tied. "Wh-why would you ask that, Ema?"

Ema looked up at Masaomi, concern and regret shining in her eyes. "You should be with the woman you love, Masaomi-kun. You do so much for our family, but we can take care of ourselves. Wataru and I will be fine. You should focus on your own happiness a little more instead."

"What are you talking about?" Masaomi asked, wondering if Ema's mind was still muddled from the anesthesia. Her eyes looked clear, but looks could be deceiving.

"Uhara Keiko is here and stopped by to talk to me," Ema explained. "She said that you refused the marriage proposal because you were in love with someone, but that you hadn't told that person you loved them. Masaomi-kun, what if you've already lost your chance with this woman? I know that I told you I wanted you home, but I'd hate it if you missed your chance to be happily married because of me. You should be with the one you love, Masaomi-kun!"

"I am," Masaomi blurted out, wanting to stop Ema's agitation. Masaomi's blush deepened as he realized what he'd said and Ema looked at him in confusion. Masaomi frantically wondered what he could say to make Ema stop without lying. Why did Keiko have to be visiting the hospital today of all days?

"I mean…I mean…I'm by her side. I'm not _with_ her, but I'm near her and I can watch over her. That's good enough for me."

"It's not, Masaomi-kun," Ema argued. "Not unless you're in love with a woman who's with someone else." She paused, shocked at the idea. "You're not, are you?"

"No!" Masaomi exclaimed, wondering if this conversation could possibly get any worse. What must Ema be thinking of him? "She's not with anyone."

"Then what are you holding back for?" Ema asked, determined to get to the bottom of this. Masaomi was so kind and couldn't seem to see himself for the amazing man that he was. Ema was afraid that he would hold himself back from what he really wanted either because he didn't think he was good enough, or because he was afraid that he would be a bother to the other person. "Is it a nurse at the hospital? Are you afraid you'd be taking advantage of your position?"

"It's you!" Masaomi resisted the childish urge to cover his mouth with his hands after those words left his lips. Ema stared up at him wide-eyed and Masaomi felt sick, wondering if Ema would feel betrayed by this revelation.

"It's…me?"

"I'm so sorry, Ema," Masaomi said, his shoulders slumping. "You—you can just pretend that you didn't hear that. I never had any intention of telling you. I'm family to you—I understand that."

"All this time," Ema mumbled. Her voice had no tone, making Masaomi feel even worse. What was Ema thinking right now? "All the way back to when Mom made you go to the arranged marriage meeting?"

"B-before that," Masaomi admitted. "You supported me despite my pathetic fear of blood as a doctor. You stayed by my side and didn't think less of me. And you always put family first. I've always loved that about you Ema. I—I'm sorry, you don't need to hear any of this."

Masaomi turned to go, but felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked back to see Ema holding onto him. To his surprise, she didn't look upset, instead she looked…amazed. Masaomi held his breath, not daring to try to guess or hope what Ema might say next.

"I…I…" Now it was Ema who was blushing. "I always want you to be by my side, Masaomi-kun. When our other brothers dated, I didn't care, other than wanting them to be happy. It was only with you that I was afraid of losing you. I selfishly hoped you would turn down the marriage proposal. I was so happy when you said that you'd stay by my side."

"What are you saying, Ema?" Masaomi asked carefully, trying his best, and failing, to not get his hopes up as he moved closer to the bed.

Ema looked down at the bed. "I don't think I'm mature enough for you," she said quietly. "Are you really sure that I'm the one that you want?"

Masaomi stared down at the top of Ema's head in shock. Could she really be asking him that question? "Ema," Masaomi breathed, sitting down on the side of the bed. "From the moment I fell in love with you, I've never even noticed another woman. I can't imagine ever wanting anyone else. I'd hoped that after you found someone to love and were happy that maybe then I could move on and find someone at least half as good as you."

Ema looked into Masaomi's eyes, the beginnings of tears in her own. Masaomi was so devoted to her…and that was without them even being together. "I can't imagine a better man than you," Ema told him. "Not as a husband or as a father." Ema blushed at her words, thinking that maybe that was saying too much too fast. She wasn't trying to propose marriage or anything like that, though she found it interesting that she was essentially echoing Miwa's words from a little while ago.

Masaomi's hands cupped Ema's face and he swooped in to kiss her on the lips. Ema inhaled sharply, surprised at how forward this was for Masaomi, but immensely enjoying it. Sadly, Masaomi pulled back a second later. "I'm sorry," he apologized, his face red. "I didn't mean to do that. It was just—"

"Don't apologize," Ema interrupted, taking Masaomi's hands in her own. "I'm happy you kissed me."

Masaomi looked relieved as he leaned his forehead against Ema's and smiled shyly at her.

~.~

Ema waited until the end of Masaomi's shift so that the two of them could go home together. They entered the house holding hands and Ema was immediately tackled by Wataru. "I'm sooo sorry, Onee-chan!" He cried. "It's all my fault that you got hurt!"

"Careful, Wataru-kun," Masaomi said gently. "You don't want to jostle Ema's arm."

Wataru gasped and backed up. "Sorry, Onee-chan!"

"It's okay, Wataru-kun," Ema assured him. "Masaomi-kun made me all better. My arm will be just fine, and it's not your fault. It was just an accident."

"I know but—" Wataru paused and cocked his head, staring at Ema and Masaomi. "Why are you two holding hands?"

The two glanced at each other, neither not knowing what to say. Wataru studied them before gasping. "Masaomi's like the knight in shining armor who saved the princess and then you two fell in love?!"

Masaomi raised his eyebrows at his youngest brother, wondering what kind of things Wataru was watching to come to a conclusion like that.

Ema coughed trying to hide a laugh as she said, "Yes, Wataru-kun, something like that."

"Yaaayyy!" Wataru exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air and twirling in circles. "This is so wonderful!"

Masaomi squeezed Ema's hand and turned to her to say, "Well, at least one of our brothers is happy about us being together."

"One down, eleven to go," Ema said, knowing that it wouldn't be easy to tell the rest, but they would do it together.


	35. Kaname

**Kaname**

"You're not a monk anymore?" Ema asked Kaname in shock. She'd been back for two weeks and though she hadn't noticed Kaname walking around in his monk robes, she hadn't thought much of it until she saw him leaving the house in a business suit. _That_ caught her attention.

"What can I say?" Kaname asked, shrugging with a joking smile on his face. "It was time to grow up."

"But, when did you get a new job? And what are you doing?"

"I'm working for Mom's company now," Kaname answered. "She's wanted one of us to be involved in it with her for a long time. I started working for her a few weeks into the summer."

"But…are you happy?" Ema asked in concern. She knew how much he'd enjoyed his job as a monk. He'd been doing it for as long as she'd known him. His love of women and drinking aside, he really was a caring person and had been able to help a lot of people through his job. As a monk, Kaname had presided over things like funerals and had taken his duty to comfort the bereaved very seriously.

Kaname smiled and patted Ema's head. "Don't worry so much, Imouto-chan. It's just work and I'm learning lots of new things."

"That's not really an answer," Ema argued, worried that Kaname seemed to be avoiding her question. "You didn't take this job just because Mom wanted you to, did you?"

"No, no, that's not the reason," Kaname assured her. If he'd wanted to please his mom with his career choice, he'd have gone to work for her as soon as he was done with school. However, he couldn't tell Ema that she was the reason for his career change. She made him want to be a better man.

After everything that happened during Ema's senior year, Kaname decided to become more serious about his life, which meant getting a job that didn't revolve around women. Of course, he wouldn't tell Ema any of this. Though he loved her, we wanted to protect her and be there for her as a big brother, so he wouldn't chase after…At least, that was how he wanted to feel. He wished he could be more like Masaomi and Louis and truly be content with only wishing for Ema's happiness, but he couldn't give up hope that Ema might fall for him.

"If you're sure," Ema said, still looking concerned. "But if you don't like this job, I think you should switch to something that makes you happy, Kaname-kun. You spend too much time at work to be doing something you don't like."

Kaname looked mock disappointed and hurt as he asked, "You think that all I'm good for is entertaining women? I promise that I have other skills, Ema-chan."

Ema quickly shook her head. "No, not at all, Kaname-kun! I think that you have many skills. You're so good with people, I'm sure that—" Ema broke off when Kaname started laughing.

"I'm sorry, you're just so serious about being worried that I'm offended," Kaname said, still laughing.

Ema flushed as she realized that Kaname had just been teasing her. She should have known.

~.~

"As you can see, this plan will help to skyrocket Miyako-chan's singing career," Juliet said, gesturing to the PowerPoint slide on the screen behind her. "Each of these planned events and the corresponding social media response that we will oversee will help to showcase her best points and her talents."

Ema was in a meeting at Star City, and she felt sick as she watched the presentation. The plan to boost Miyako's popularity after she debuted was _Ema's._ Ema had spent the past two weeks working on it and every free moment thinking about it. She had been very proud with what she came up with, and rightfully so from the positive reactions of the other people in the meeting.

A few days ago, Juliet had asked Ema to show her what she had been working so diligently on. Ema had, not at all expecting Juliet to steal her plan and present it as her own. Worse than that, Ema was pretty sure this was the second time. The first time, Ema had planned a rally to support an actor who got hurt on set and who the director wanted to replace. The next day, Juliet presented the rally to their manager. At the time, Ema thought that they must have just come up with the same idea separately, but after seeing this Ema wondered if Juliet had seen Ema's notes about the rally.

"You should take notes, Ema-chan," Ema's manager said, turning to her and pointing at Juliet. "As an intern, this is exactly the kind of thing you should emulate. Maybe I'll have you job shadow Juliet for a few days and you can pick her brain for how she comes up with ideas like this."

"R—right," Ema said quietly, not sure what else to say. She was only an intern while Juliet had been working for Star City for three years, having transferred from the main office in France. Who would believe Ema over Juliet?

Later that day, Juliet cast Ema an arrogant look when they passed each other in the hall. "I hope you're not dumb enough to say anything to anyone," Juliet warned. "You're only an intern, after all. Obviously, you wouldn't have ideas as good as someone who's been in this business for a while."

"If you've learned so much than why would you take my ideas?" Ema asked, clenching her fists. She hadn't been able to concentrate since the presentation she was so upset. She couldn't focus on anything other than memory of Juliet presenting _her_ hard work.

"Silly girl, this _is_ what I've learned. This is a tough and competitive business. If you don't have what it takes to stay on top, you might as well get out now."

~.~

Ema struggled not to cry as she started dinner by herself that evening. She had been so excited about her work for Star City and had really been enjoying it. She'd hoped that she'd found what she wanted to do with her life, but if today was any indication of what working for a company like Star City would be like in the long run…

Ema was so caught up in her dark thoughts that she didn't notice when someone else entered the kitchen.

"Ema-chan?" Kaname asked softly. "Did something happen today?"

"What?" Ema asked, spinning to face him and widening her eyes, trying to stop her tears from falling. "Oh, no, everything's fine." Ema smiled to show him she was okay. Kaname had enough to worry about since it seemed like he was still settling into his new job, often coming home looking tired. And it wasn't like there was anything he could do to help. Ema didn't want to make him worry needlessly.

"Really," Kaname said, his voice flat.

"I—yes," Ema said, her brow wrinkling in confusion at Kaname's tone. "Did something happen to you today?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. I came home to my little sister looking obviously upset, but when I asked her about it, she just brushed me off."

"It's just a problem at work," Ema said, shrugging and turning back to her dinner preparations to hide her face.

Kaname stared at Ema's back, his frustration quickly mounting. How many times had he talked to Ema about not keeping things to herself and relying on her family more? If she hadn't internalized everything when his brothers started confessing their feelings to her, then maybe things wouldn't have gotten as bad as they did. Once, _once,_ Kaname had seen Ema truly express being hurt and upset, and that was only after she was pushed nearly to the breaking point by Iori and the stress of what the others who'd confessed had done.

"You know," Kaname said casually, trying to hide his frustration as he leaned against the counter. "It's not fair for you to expect me to express my concerns about my new job when you won't do the same with your own."

"I'm having some problems with a coworker," Ema admitted. "Though I'm sure that I'll figure something out." Like maybe leaving Star City and finding something else to do with her life. The thought depressed Ema and her shoulders unconsciously sagged. She'd been so excited to think that she finally might have found what career she wanted.

"What kind of trouble?" Kaname prompted.

Ema looked over, surprised that Kaname was still in the same spot, then she felt guilty for telling him anything. He obviously must be worried about her if he was still here. He hadn't even changed out of his work clothes yet, and he always got out of his suit first thing when he got home.

"Don't worry about it," Ema said, smiling what she hoped was a convincing smile. "You should go change, Kaname-kun. I'm sure you're tired from work. Dinner should be ready in less than an hour."

"Ema," Kaname said sternly, than forced himself to gentle his tone. "You don't have to force yourself when you're upset. If you always keep things to yourself, it's harder to be closer to the people around you. Relationships with the people we care about are supposed to work two ways, with each supporting the other. You never let us support you, even when you're going through hard times. How many things have you kept from us and went through alone through the years?"

Though Kaname was sure Ema wouldn't answer that, he truly wanted to know. A few weeks after Ema and Yusuke started high school, Yusuke came to Kaname and confessed that the family might be getting a call about Yusuke hitting a kid at school. Yusuke told Kaname that a boy had been bullying Ema for weeks and Yusuke decided to take matters into his own hands after he found out about it. Kaname intercepted the call from the school to make sure that Ukyo didn't find out about it and get Yusuke in trouble for it, but he'd been very upset that Ema hadn't said a word to anyone about it. How many other times had things like that happened?

"I don't want to be a burden," Ema brushed off, still smiling. "There's no reason for me to complain about the little things that go wrong in my life."

From the expression on Ema's face when Kaname got home, he doubted that she was upset over something small. "You're _not_ a burden," Kaname said, losing his temper and slamming his hand on the counter. Ema jumped in surprise. "I've told you before that we're your family and it's part of our job to be there for you, Ema. Half a year ago you complained that you're not really part of this family, but if that's true it's because _you_ hold yourself back." Kaname immediately regretted it the moment he said it. Obviously, that wasn't the truth. Ema was as much a part of the family as everyone else. "Ema, I didn't mean—"

"There was once a little girl who stood outside Sunrise Mansion, looking up at it," Ema interrupted, not looking at Kaname. Her voice shook with emotion. "She was ecstatic to be joining a new family, but afraid of how thirteen brothers would feel about a little girl intruding on their lives. She swore two things to herself." Now Ema looked at Kaname, finding him looking wide-eyed and confused at Ema's seemingly abrupt change in topic. "The first was that she would be the kind of sister her new brothers could rely on, and the second was that she _would not_ be a burden to them."

Kaname moved to stand in front of Ema, caging her against the counter behind her. "If you won't let me support you as your brother, than maybe you'll let me do it as a man instead." Cupping the back of Ema's head with one hand, Kaname kissed her. He pushed his body against hers, wrapping his other arm around Ema's waist.

Ema made a noise of surprise, her hands coming up to fist in Kaname's suit jacket. She was shocked at how it felt to be kissed by Kaname. He had always been such a stable, reliable presence in her life. She felt safe in his arms. And excited. Was this how it felt to like someone?

Kaname pulled back and the two of them stared at each other, inches apart. Before either of them could say anything, Kaname's cell phone rang. He made an irritated face and pulled out the cell phone Ema had seen him use for his job at the shrine. She saw a woman's name listed on the phone and stepped back from Kaname uncertainly, feeling hurt. Kaname may have left his job as a monk, but did that mean that he'd left his 'followers' behind?

Rather than answering the phone, Kaname handed it to Ema. "Here," he said. "You can do whatever you want with it. I have a company phone now with all our family numbers in it and those are the only contacts I need. I don't have any use for that phone now."

Ema stared down at the phone in shock, knowing what a big gesture this was for Kaname. How long had he had feelings for Ema? Did she have anything to do with him changing jobs? Ema tossed the phone behind her, hearing it clatter on the floor as she reached for Kaname. He looked utterly relieved and elated as he wrapped Ema in his arms again, bending down to kiss her.

~.~

Two weeks later, Kaname and Ema were holding hands as they walked down the street. They had just finished a lunch date and Kaname was walking Ema back to Star City. Their conversation was abruptly interrupted when Juliet stepped in front of them. They stopped in surprise and Kaname pulled Ema closer to him.

Juliet smiled sweetly at the couple in front of her. She'd been dumbfounded as she watched Ema walking back to Star City with such a hot guy holding her hand. How had a little girl like Ema managed to land a guy like that? Jealousy spiked through Juliet when she noticed the man pull Ema protectively closer to him.

"Goodness, Ema-chan, where have you been hiding this man?" Juliet asked, staring at Kaname the whole time. Kaname raised his eyebrows at Juliet, wondering who this woman was and what she wanted. She smiled sultrily and put a hand on Kaname's arm. "Ema-chan is such a darling little girl, isn't she? But she is _just_ a girl." Juliet blatantly looked Kaname up and down. "You, on other hand, are very much a man. Wouldn't you rather be with a woman?"

Ema flushed as Juliet spoke, shocked that Juliet would be so bold as to flirt with Kaname right in front of Ema. A small part of Ema was also afraid that there could be some truth to what Juliet was saying. Kaname was ten years older than Ema and had dated a lot of women. What did he think about dating someone in their first year of college? Ema wasn't even nineteen yet.

"And you are?" Kaname asked, looking bemused as he stared at Juliet.

"Pardon me for my rudeness," Juliet flirted, putting one hand to her chest. "I'm Juliet, I work with Ema at Star City. And your name is?"

The moment Juliet gave her name, Kaname's eyes went cold. He tilted his head as he said, "Ah, so you're the idiot with no sense."

"Excuse me?" Juliet demanded, shocked at the man's words and his cold tone. "Oh, wait, is this about Ema's confusion that I stole her work? I'm afraid that as an intern, she just doesn't understand how things work. I promise you that the whole thing is just a misunderstanding."

Kaname shook his head. "I'm sure you think you're very lucky and clever being able to steal the outstanding work of an intern, but I personally think it's pretty stupid and rather bold to dare to steal the work of Miwa Asahina's stepdaughter."

Juliet's face went pale as she finally looked at Ema. "Miwa Asahina?" Even living in France, Juliet knew who the major conglomerate owner was. Who didn't know the name of one of the wealthiest businesswoman in the world? "Why-why didn't you ever say anything?" Juliet demanded, now fearing for her job. Miwa Asahina had a lot of connections that would be beneficial to Star City. If the company learned who Ema was, there was no way they would choose to keep Juliet over Ema if Ema complained about what Juliet had done.

Ema blinked uncomprehendingly at Juliet, making Kaname smile. He was sure that it had never, and would have never, occurred to Ema to use the connections available to her. "Unlike you," Kaname said to Juliet, pausing to kiss Ema's forehead, "Ema is good enough that she doesn't need to use tricks to advance at work. _However,_ if you ever do anything to Ema again, _I_ will interfere on behalf of the Asahina family."

Juliet paled further. "I—I'm sorry, Ema-san. It all really was a misunderstanding, I swear. It won't happen again." Before she could say anything else that might make things worse for her, Juliet fled back inside.

"You see?" Kaname said, turning to Ema. "Telling others about your problems _does_ make things better."

Ema smiled up at Kaname, squeezing his hand. "I'm not sure how valuable complaining by itself is," Ema said, standing on tiptoe to kiss Kaname's cheek, "but I promise that I'll always share my troubles with you from now on."

 **A/N:** On to Natsume!


	36. Natsume

**A/N:** This fanfiction has been a ton of fun to write and I can't deny I'm sad to be posting the last chapter. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed/favorited/followed! I really appreciate the support

 **Natsume**

"Are you still enjoying your internship?" Natsume asked Ema as they walked down the street together. They'd just left the gamer themed amusement park. It was Ema's first time back there since that fateful trip with her classmates almost a year ago. Part of Ema still wondered how their family drama would have played out if Ema hadn't gone that night, or had gone with Yusuke instead of Sasakura.

"Yes!" Ema said enthusiastically. "I'm learning a lot and my manager tells me that I'm doing a good job. And Iori told me that he'll be coming back to Japan soon, so I'll get to help manage his publicity, which I'm excited about."

"Good," Natsume said, smiling at Ema's excitement. "I hope this internship has helped you conquer your fears about not living up to the rest of the Asahinas with your future career."

"It has," Ema admitted, becoming thoughtful. "I'm still not sure if I'll want to continue to work for Star City after university, but I at least have the confidence to say that I can try new things and do well at them. In the meantime, I am considering getting a degree in communications because I really enjoy working in social media."

"I'm glad," Natsume said. "But don't be afraid to take your time. Remember that you don't need to decide everything right now. You still have time to explore your options and figure out what you want to do."

"I know," Ema said. "It's just nice to have some direction. Yusuke-kun keeps alternating between not caring at all, and freaking out that he has no idea what he wants to do yet."

Natsume sighed and shook his head. "Unlike you, I think that Yusuke could stand to be a little more stressed about the future. He's never taken school very seriously."

"But he did get into college," Ema argued, standing up for Yusuke. "He studied really hard to be able to get in. And I think he's taking university more seriously than he did high school. Sometimes, anyway."

Natsume seemed unconvinced as he checked the time on his watch. "Well, I've got to meet my coworker to work on our project now. We've run into some unexpected problems and we're worried that we might miss our deadline."

"Okay. Good luck, Natsume-kun. And thanks for going with me to the amusement park today."

"Anytime," Natsume said, waving as he left.

Ema smiled as she watched Natsume walk away, grateful she'd been able to spend part of the day with him. Spending time with Natsume always lifted her spirits and the two of them could talk for hours. Ema was beginning to realize that she didn't think of Natsume in the same way she did her other stepbrothers. When Ema thought of Natsume, Hikaru's question of whether or not Ema could honestly say she thought of all the Asahinas as brothers rang through her mind.

Being with Natsume was different and Ema wondered if it had always been that way and she'd just ignored it, or if her feelings had changed recently. Either way, Ema didn't want to rush into anything and planned to give herself some time before she said anything to Natsume.

~.~

Though Ema wanted to spend more time with Natsume so she could figure out her feelings, the next month only led to disappointment. Every time Ema tried to schedule something with Natsume, he had to work. Even when Natsume set aside time to spend with Ema, some emergency would come up at work or something would go wrong and he'd have to stay later. He was always apologetic, and Ema assured him that she understood. Though, truth be told, she was beginning to feel depressed and she wondered if it was because she hadn't been able to see Natsume for so long or because she was frustrated that her attempts to figure out her feelings were all failing. If it was the former, then Ema already had her answer.

Ema was wandering around town on a Friday night after being told once again by Natsume that he wouldn't be able to see her. She'd offered to make him dinner that night, figuring that he had to eat anyway and hoping she'd be able to see him for at least a little while, but he'd told her that he'd probably pick something up from his work's cafeteria so that he could work longer.

Ema sighed and dug her hands into her jacket's pockets. Fall was here and it was starting to get chilly in the evenings. She knew that she should head back home soon, but she was worried that her brothers would be able to pick up on her melancholy attitude and she didn't want to explain or make them worry. She'd wait to go home until she could do so with a smile on her face.

Ema peered through the brightly lit windows of a café as she walked along. What she saw made her do a double take and then freeze on the sidewalk. She saw Natsume…sitting with a woman. Even worse, they were talking and laughing. The sight made Ema's heart squeeze painfully and she felt sick as she watched them.

Was this what Natsume had been doing all month long? Canceling on Ema to spend time with another woman? Ema tried to swallow passed the lump in her throat. Why hadn't Natsume just been honest with her? It wasn't as though he owed her anything. He'd confessed to her months ago and the only thing Ema had told him was that family was too important for her to date any of her stepbrothers. Ema had no right to expect Natsume to wait around pining for her.

Not wanting to see anymore, Ema turned on her heel and ran in the other direction as tears started to fall. Ema angrily wiped them away, dodging through the people on the streets and barely bothering to apologize when she knocked into a man.

It looked like Ema finally found the answer to her feelings about Natsume, but now it was too late.

~.~

Throughout the next week, Ema couldn't hide how depressed she felt, despite her best efforts. When any of her brothers asked what was wrong, she brushed them off with a smile telling them that she was just having a tough week, but she was sure it would get better. Her brothers didn't seem convinced by Ema's words, but they just watched her with worried expressions, wishing that there was something they could do for her.

At the end of the week, Ema received a text from Natsume asking her if she'd like to come over and try a demo for a new game his company was working on. Ema's heart ached as she stared at the text, thinking that she'd gotten so many texts like this from Natsume through the years and they'd always made her excited.

Now…Ema wondered if Natsume planned to finally come clean about the woman he'd been seeing. Maybe tell Ema that he thought of her as a stepsister now, or just a friend, so she didn't need to worry about his feelings anymore. Her vision blurred with tears at the thought and she texted back that she had too much homework and couldn't make it.

~.~

The next weekend when Natsume texted her that his project was finished and he had more free time now, Ema texted back that several celebrities were debuting in the next while and that she'd be really busy at her internship. Natsume texted back joking that the two of them couldn't catch a break since it seemed like either one or the other of them was busy these days. Ema didn't bother responding.

~.~

Two weeks later, when Natsume texted Ema again asking her to come over, Ema decided that she needed to stop being immature and running away. It wasn't fair for her to throw a fit like this and avoid Natsume when he had done nothing wrong. From his perspective, they'd been friends for years and it'd be weird for Ema to suddenly refuse to see him. She texted back that she was free and would see him Saturday night.

~.~

"It feels like it's been forever since we've seen each other," Natsume said as he set the table for dinner.

"Yeah," Ema agreed quietly, trying to smile as she carried the salad from the kitchen. "I guess this is what life is like when you're an adult. Always busy with work and stuff."

"It's not all bad," Natsume argued. "I promise there's fun things about being an adult…I just can't think of any of at the moment."

Ema knew this was the part where she was supposed to laugh, but she couldn't make herself do it. How could she pretend to be happy and light-hearted when she felt so heartbroken?

"Is something wrong?" Natsume asked in concern as they sat down.

"No," Ema said as she shook her head, offering up a tiny, sad smile. "It's just been a long week is all."

"Are you too tired to try the demo tonight?" Natsume asked. "You didn't have to come. I don't want you to ever feel pressured into coming over. We can always do it some other time."

"Okay," Ema said, feeling depressed. She'd really wanted to come here and be supportive and be Natsume's friend, but she just couldn't do it. She couldn't make herself be okay with watching Natsume with another woman. She'd just have to use school and her internship as an excuse to not see him anymore.

There was awkward silence as they ate and Ema wanted to kick herself, knowing that the silence was her fault. Out of desperation to break the silence, Ema ended up blurting, "Congratulations on your relationship." She immediately felt her face flame up and wondered if she could have said anything more embarrassing than that. She wasn't supposed to know since Natsume hadn't said anything about it yet.

"My relationship?" Natsume asked, his brow furrowing.

Ema felt her face burn hotter. "Yeah, I kind of saw you with her a couple weeks ago. I swear I wasn't meaning to spy on you, I just happened to see you."

"Saw me where?" Natsume asked. "And with who?"

Ema shrugged awkwardly. "It was in a café on a Friday night. I saw you two eating together." She didn't add that it was the night she'd offered to make dinner for him.

Natsume stared at Ema with a blank expression on his face until a light finally went on in his eyes. "Oh, you're talking about my coworker, Tetsu-san." Then he looked horrified and shook his head. "No, no, you've got the wrong idea. I would never date Tetsu-san. She's crazy. And scary. We'd been working on our project for ten hours straight that Friday and both agreed that we'd go insane if we spent one more moment staring at our computer screens, so we went out to eat before going back to work. I promise you, there's nothing romantic about my relationship with her."

"Oh," Ema said, staring at her plate and feeling stupid. All that anguish and angst…over seeing Natsume eat with a coworker who he had no romantic feelings for. Why couldn't she have just done the mature thing and asked him about it? Natsume didn't know that Ema had feelings for him, so why would he have bothered hiding a relationship from her? Even if he didn't want their brothers to know, he still probably would have told Ema.

"So, you're not seeing anyone?" Ema asked, looking up at him.

Natsume stared at Ema, stunned. After several moments, he carefully answered, "No, I'm not seeing anyone." He seemed like he wanted to say more, but then stopped himself.

Ema tried to gather her courage as she said, "That's…that's good. I mean, I—" Ema blushed furiously, staring down at her hands and wishing that she could be more eloquent. Ema sighed and tried to start over. "I love being with you more than anyone else. I don't know how long I've felt that way, but I do know that I want to be with you. As your girlfriend…If you still feel that way about me."

Ema heard the scrape of a chair and the next moment, Natsume was beside her, pulling her up and placing one hand on the back of her head as his lips went to hers. Ema gave a muffled gasp and Natsume pulled Ema closer, his free arm going around her back. Ema wrapped her arms around Natsume's neck, tangling her fingers in his hair.

She couldn't believe that she was doing this, but it felt so _right_ to be kissing Natsume. She remembered how much better she felt the night she found out she was adopted after Natsume kissed her. After that moment she'd finally been able to calm down and think a little more rationally about the situation.

Natsume slowly slid his hands up Ema's back and she shivered, pushing herself against him. Natsume moved one hand to the back of Ema's head again and deepened the kiss. After several moments, he pulled away. "Ema," he breathed, before kissing her once. He pulled back to look at Ema, studying her before smiling and saying, "I love you, Ema."

Ema blushed as she looked into Natsume's eyes and confessed, "I love you, Natsume-kun."

~.~

Natsume came over to the Sunrise Mansion the next day, telling Ema that he wanted all their brothers to know that Ema was his. Ema was nervous about telling everyone, but after how jealous she felt about seeing Natsume with another woman, she was more than willing to do whatever he wanted about their brothers.

They were standing in the living rrom and had just declared their relationship when Tsubaki interrupted by saying, "You rat bastard, you're the reason that Ema's been so upset, aren't you?"

Natsume turned to look at Ema, who he had his arm around, in confusion.

Ema blushed and said, "I told you that I thought you were dating that woman I saw you eating dinner with. That was a month ago and I've…been really upset about it."

Natsume smiled as he bent down to kiss Ema's forehead. "Just come and talk to me when things like that happen so that there aren't any misunderstandings, Ema. My feelings for you have never wavered."

"Yeah, yeah," Tsubaki said, crossing his arms as he glared at Natsume. "Don't blame this on Ema. You better not mess up again. I swear you'll regret it if you make her cry."

"That's right," Azusa agreed. "Don't forget that there are plenty of people willing to take your place if you can't make Ema happy."

Natsume glared at his triplets as he pulled Ema closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. "I won't make her cry again and I will make her happy. You two better watch it or I might just take Ema away from here. Or move back into my old room."

Ema looked up at Natsume in surprise and he smiled down at her before bending to kiss her lips.

 **End**

 **A/N:** I don't know when/if I'll do this, but I'm tempted to do a fic where Miwa is the queen of her own country and her thirteen sons are princes. Ema is the daughter of ambassador Rintaro, who frequently travels to Miwa's country. When Queen Miwa meets Ema, she decides that Ema would make an excellent wife/princess and should marry one of her sons. Many of the princes, after getting to know Ema, agree. It's just a thought for now, but I think it'd be fun!


End file.
